Backes & Strauss
British luxury jewellery and high-end diamond-set watch brand with roots in an eighteenth-century German diamond business.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Backes & Strauss is a luxury jewellery and horology brand whose history reaches back to 1789, when Georg Carl Backes established a goldsmithing and diamond business in Hanau, Germany. Although the brand is now associated with Britain through its London office, hallmark and Mayfair operations, its earliest commercial roots are German. The company describes itself as the world’s oldest diamond company, a distinction linked to its eighteenth-century founding and long continuity in the diamond trade. The business expanded toward London in the early nineteenth century. Georg Carl Backes sent his son Johann Franz Backes to London at the age of 24 to establish an office, and the London branch became an important base for the family business after Georg Carl’s death in 1819. Johann Franz traded and manufactured diamonds and jewellery, later working with his sons Charles and William. The company’s work was displayed at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, where jewellery associated with J. F. Backes received catalogue coverage. A nineteenth-century Assyrian-style bracelet registered by J. F. Backes & Sons is also held by the British Museum. Max Strauss joined the business as an office boy in 1856 and rose to become its manager. From 1873, the firm traded under the name Backes & Strauss. Manufacturing activities in Britain began in 1877, and the company registered its hallmark at Goldsmiths’ Hall in London in 1878. Following the death of Charles Backes in 1890, the business increasingly concentrated on diamonds. During the early twentieth century, it operated as a diamond and gem merchant and increased its travelling and exhibition activity. An Antwerp office was established in 1953, extending the company’s presence into a major European diamond centre. The modern brand identity was shaped by its move into high-end mechanical watches. In November 2006, Backes & Strauss entered a strategic partnership with Swiss watchmaker Franck Muller Group. The partnership led to the introduction of Backes & Strauss watch collections, first presented at the World Presentation of Haute Horlogerie in 2007. The principal collections named in the company’s early watch launch were Regent, Berkeley and Piccadilly. Backes & Strauss differentiates its timepieces through extensive diamond and gemstone setting combined with Swiss mechanical-watch production. Its watches are made in the Geneva workshops of Franck Muller Watchland, where the components are produced in-house according to the reference material. The brand states that its diamonds are selected in D, E or F colour grades and are internally flawless or have only slight inclusions. A recurring design signature is the “Jewel in the Crown”: every Backes & Strauss watch includes at least one diamond set into the crown, with the setting intended to evoke the pavilion, or base, of a cut diamond. Today, Backes & Strauss operates across the jewellery and luxury-watch categories, with its principal activities associated with London and Geneva. Its positioning combines historic diamond-merchandising credentials, British jewellery heritage, rare-stone presentation and Swiss haute horlogerie. Publicly available reference material does not establish its current ownership, executive leadership, financial performance or a standalone corporate website, so those details remain unspecified here.
History
Backes & Strauss traces its origins to 1789, when Georg Carl Backes established a goldsmithing and diamond business in Hanau, Germany. The company’s early history was therefore rooted in German craftsmanship and the European diamond trade rather than in London alone. Its later British identity developed through the expansion of the family business into London. In the early nineteenth century, Georg Carl Backes sent his 24-year-old son Johann Franz to London to establish an office. After Georg Carl died in 1819, Johann Franz continued the company’s diamond and jewellery trading and manufacturing activities. The London operation became a durable part of the business, and the firm’s jewellery was displayed at the Great Exhibition in 1851. A bracelet in an Assyrian style, registered by J. F. Backes & Sons in 1872, is held by the British Museum and illustrates the company’s nineteenth-century jewellery activity. Johann Franz was later joined by his sons Charles and William. In 1856, the company employed Max Strauss as an office boy. Strauss advanced within the business and became its manager. The name Backes & Strauss came into commercial use in 1873. British manufacturing began in 1877, followed by registration of the company hallmark at Goldsmiths’ Hall in London in 1878. These developments helped establish the London branch as more than a trading office and connected the business to Britain’s regulated jewellery and silversmithing infrastructure. After Charles Backes died in 1890, the company concentrated increasingly on diamonds. It traded as a diamond and gem merchant and expanded its travelling and exhibition activities during the period from 1904 to 1910. In 1953, an Antwerp office was established under Gerald Stroud, working under the direction of Robert Lee and Gustave Ponet. Antwerp’s role as a major international diamond centre made the office strategically relevant to the company’s continuing diamond activities. The brand’s contemporary transformation came in the twenty-first century. In November 2006, Backes & Strauss entered a strategic partnership with the Swiss watchmaker Franck Muller Group. This relationship gave the historic diamond company a platform in high-end mechanical watchmaking and linked its gemstone expertise with Swiss horological production. The resulting collection was first shown at the World Presentation of Haute Horlogerie in 2007, with Regent, Berkeley and Piccadilly identified as the initial flagship families. The modern Backes & Strauss product concept centres on diamond-set and jewel-encrusted watches. The watches are produced in the Geneva workshops of Franck Muller Watchland, where the reference material states that the watch components are made in-house. Diamond quality and setting are central to the brand proposition: its stated selection uses D, E or F colour diamonds with internally flawless or only slight-inclusion clarity. The brand also uses a crown-mounted diamond on every watch as a signature known as the “Jewel in the Crown”; the setting is designed to recall the pavilion of a diamond. The company’s current public identity therefore combines several layers of heritage: an eighteenth-century Hanau foundation, a nineteenth-century London office and hallmark, a continuing association with the diamond trade, and a modern Geneva-based haute horlogerie partnership. Its main operational references are London, particularly Mayfair, and Geneva. The available sources do not provide reliable information about current executives, ownership, revenue, listing status or a confirmed official website.
- 2007
Watch collection presented at WPHH
[1]The brand showed its watch collection for the first time at the World Presentation of Haute Horlogerie.
- 2006
Strategic partnership with Franck Muller
[1]Backes & Strauss entered a strategic partnership with the Franck Muller Group to develop and present high-end watch collections.
- 1953
Antwerp office established
[1]An office was founded in Antwerp, extending the company’s presence into an important international diamond centre.
- 1878
London hallmark registered
[1]The company registered its hallmark at Goldsmiths’ Hall in London.
- 1877
Manufacturing begins in Britain
[1]The company began manufacturing activities in Britain.
- 1873
Backes & Strauss name adopted
[1]The business began trading under the Backes & Strauss name.
- 1856
Max Strauss joins the business
[1]Max Strauss entered the company as an office boy and later became its manager.
- 1851
Jewellery shown at the Great Exhibition
[1]Jewellery associated with J. F. Backes was displayed at London’s Great Exhibition and documented in its official catalogue.
- 1814
London office established
[1]Johann Franz Backes established a London office, creating the foundation of the company’s long-term British presence.
- 1789
Business founded in Hanau
[1]Georg Carl Backes established the goldsmithing and diamond business in Hanau, Germany, providing the origin of the later Backes & Strauss brand.
Products and positioning
Ultra-luxury diamond jewellery and Swiss-made mechanical watches, built around historic diamond-trading heritage, British jewellery identity and elaborate gemstone setting.
Luxury mechanical watch collection · 2007
Regent
Regent is one of the principal watch families introduced after the Franck Muller partnership. It represents the brand’s combination of high-end mechanical watchmaking and extensive diamond or gemstone decoration. As with the wider Backes & Strauss watch range, the crown carries the brand’s Jewel in the Crown signature, and production is associated with the Geneva workshops of Franck Muller Watchland.
Luxury mechanical watch collection · 2007
Berkeley
Berkeley is one of the collections presented during Backes & Strauss’s entry into contemporary haute horlogerie. The line expresses the brand’s core proposition of Swiss mechanical movements and high-jewellery finishing, with diamonds serving as both decoration and a defining element of the case and crown design.
Luxury mechanical watch collection · 2007
Piccadilly
Piccadilly is a named flagship family from the first Backes & Strauss watch presentation. Its role in the portfolio is to connect the brand’s London identity with jewel-set Swiss watchmaking. The collection belongs to the product strategy developed with Franck Muller following the 2006 strategic partnership.
Luxury jewellery
Fine jewellery
Fine jewellery is part of Backes & Strauss’s historic business, which began with goldsmithing, diamonds and jewellery manufacture. Historical references include nineteenth-century bracelets and exhibition jewellery. The available material does not provide a complete current jewellery catalogue, product names or collection-level launch dates.
Design signature
Jewel in the Crown
The Jewel in the Crown is Backes & Strauss’s signature crown setting. The brand states that every watch has at least one diamond set into the crown. The design is intended to resemble the pavilion, or lower portion, of a diamond and makes the crown itself a visible expression of the company’s diamond-specialist identity.
Brand decisions
2007
Present Regent, Berkeley and Piccadilly watch collectionsProduct launchBackground
The strategic partnership created a route for the historic diamond business to enter the branded haute horlogerie sector.
Action taken
Backes & Strauss presented its watch collection for the first time at the World Presentation of Haute Horlogerie.
Aftermath
Regent, Berkeley and Piccadilly became the principal collections associated with the brand’s modern watch identity.
2006
Enter the luxury-watch market through a Franck Muller partnershipStrategyBackground
Backes & Strauss had a long history in diamonds and jewellery but sought to establish a contemporary presence in high-end horology.
Action taken
The company entered a strategic partnership with the Swiss watchmaker Franck Muller Group.
Aftermath
The partnership led to the development and presentation of Backes & Strauss watch collections, with manufacturing connected to Franck Muller Watchland in Geneva.
Recent events
- 2007
Backes & Strauss presents its watch collections at WPHH[1]
Product launch
Following its partnership with Franck Muller, Backes & Strauss publicly presented its watch collection at the World Presentation of Haute Horlogerie, including the Regent, Berkeley and Piccadilly lines.
- 2006
Backes & Strauss enters strategic partnership with Franck Muller Group[1]
M&A
Backes & Strauss formed a strategic partnership with Swiss watchmaker Franck Muller Group as part of its expansion into high-end mechanical watches.
Sources1 sources
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