Wartski

Wartski is a British family-run dealer of antique jewellery, silver and Russian works of art, with particular expertise in objects associated with Carl Fabergé and the imperial Russian court. The business was founded by Morris Wartski in Bangor, North Wales, in 1882. Morris, a Polish-Jewish immigrant from Turek in central Poland, initially established a jewellery shop before also developing a drapery business. The jewellery side was subsequently expanded by his sons, Harry and Charles Wartski, and became an important source of historically significant jewellery and decorative arts for collectors and institutions. The firm’s early twentieth-century development was shaped by the movement of the family business and by the growing international market for Russian imperial objects. After Charles was injured in a cycling accident, the jewellery operation moved to Llandudno in 1907. A London presence followed in 1911, initially using the name Wartski of Llandudno. The business later occupied premises in London’s Quadrant Arcade, Regent Street, 139 Regent Street and 14 Grafton Street before moving in 2018 to larger premises at 60 St James’s Street. The firm’s 1974 Grafton Street shopfront, designed by John Bruckland, was listed Grade II in 2012 for its architectural significance. Wartski became especially prominent in the study and trade of Fabergé objects after the Russian Revolution. As members of the Russian aristocracy dispersed and the Soviet government sold former imperial possessions to obtain foreign currency, Harry Wartski and Emanuel Snowman sought out Romanov jewels, Fabergé works and related objets d’art. Snowman travelled to the Soviet Union from 1925 to negotiate purchases through the Antiquariat, the Soviet state organization responsible for the sale of cultural property abroad. The firm also acquired objects connected with the Egyptian royal collection after the deposition of King Farouk. The Snowman family played a central role in turning Wartski into a center of expertise as well as a commercial gallery. Abraham Kenneth Snowman, who ran the London shop, authored influential studies of Fabergé and European gold boxes and organized major Fabergé exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York. His scholarship and curatorial work helped establish the firm’s reputation among museums, collectors and historians of jewellery and decorative arts. The business remains controlled by descendants of its founding family. Hector Snowman owns the firm, while Katherine Purcell and Kieran McCarthy serve as joint managing directors; Thomas Holman is also a director. Their work combines dealing, scholarship, exhibition-making and authentication. Purcell is known for research into French nineteenth-century jewellery, including the houses of Falize and the work of René Lalique. McCarthy has specialized in Fabergé, including the discovery and public presentation in 2014 of the previously lost Third Imperial Easter Egg and research into Fabergé’s London branch. In addition to private sales, Wartski supports museum exhibitions, catalogues and specialist research. Its public profile has been reinforced by royal commissions, including wedding rings made for the 2005 marriage of Charles and Camilla and the 2011 wedding ring made for Catherine Middleton from Welsh gold given to Prince William by Queen Elizabeth II. The firm holds royal appointments as jewellers to Charles III, Queen Camilla and the late Queen Elizabeth II. Its current activities encompass antique and historical jewellery, silver, Russian works of art, Fabergé, exhibitions and scholarly publishing, serving an international network of collectors and cultural institutions.

Wartski began in Bangor, North Wales, in 1882, when Morris Wartski established a jewellery business after arriving in Britain from Turek, Poland. The family later developed a substantial drapery business, but Morris’s sons Harry and Charles concentrated on jewellery and antiques. In 1907, following Charles’s cycling accident, the jewellery operation moved to Llandudno. The town became the base from which the firm expanded its clientele and developed a reputation for important jewellery. A London branch opened on New Bond Street in 1911 under the name Wartski of Llandudno. The firm subsequently occupied several central London locations, including the Quadrant Arcade, Regent Street, 139 Regent Street and 14 Grafton Street. The Grafton Street frontage, designed by John Bruckland in 1974, became a notable example of late twentieth-century retail architecture and was Grade II listed in 2012. In 2018, Wartski moved to its current address at 60 St James’s Street, where the interior was designed by Waldo Works. The Russian Revolution transformed the market in which Wartski operated. Russian aristocrats carried jewels and decorative objects into exile, while the Soviet government sold portions of former imperial collections through the Antiquariat to raise foreign currency. Harry Wartski and Emanuel Snowman pursued these objects, acquiring Fabergé works and Romanov-related jewellery for the firm. Snowman began travelling to the Soviet Union in 1925. After King Farouk of Egypt was deposed, Kenneth Snowman also travelled to Cairo and acquired pieces from the Egyptian royal collection, including Fabergé objects. Kenneth Snowman, the son of Emanuel, became one of the firm’s most important twentieth-century figures. He ran the London shop, wrote major books on Fabergé and European gold boxes, and organized exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Cooper Hewitt Museum. His work helped establish Wartski as a scholarly authority as well as a dealer. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1994 and appointed CBE in 1997 for services to the arts and charitable institutions. The company remains a family business under the ownership of Hector Snowman. In the current generation, Katherine Purcell and Kieran McCarthy are joint managing directors, with Thomas Holman also serving as a director. Purcell has published and curated research on French jewellery, Falize and Art Nouveau. McCarthy has written on Fabergé’s London operations and in 2014 identified the lost Third Imperial Easter Egg. His research later informed the Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition Fabergé in London: Romance to Revolution, held from 2021 to 2022. Wartski’s activities now combine dealing in rare jewellery, silver, Fabergé and Russian works of art with exhibitions, sponsorship, publication and expert research. Its royal connections include appointments as jewellers to Charles III, Queen Camilla and the late Queen Elizabeth II. The firm also produced wedding rings for the 2005 marriage of Charles and Camilla and for the 2011 marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.

• 2021

  Fabergé in London exhibition

  [1]Wartskien.wikipedia.org

  The Victoria and Albert Museum presented Fabergé in London: Romance to Revolution, curated by Kieran McCarthy.

• 2018

  Move to St James’s Street

  [1]Wartskien.wikipedia.org

  Wartski moved to larger premises at 60 St James’s Street in London.

• 2014

  Third Imperial Easter Egg identified

  [1]Wartskien.wikipedia.org

  Kieran McCarthy revealed the lost Third Imperial Fabergé Easter Egg and exhibited it publicly.

• 2011

  Wedding ring for Catherine Middleton

  [1]Wartskien.wikipedia.org

  Wartski made Catherine Middleton’s wedding ring from Welsh gold given to Prince William by Queen Elizabeth II.

• 1977

  Fabergé exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum

  [1]Wartskien.wikipedia.org

  Kenneth Snowman organized a major Fabergé exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

• 1925

  Soviet purchasing begins

  [1]Wartskien.wikipedia.org

  Emanuel Snowman began travelling to the Soviet Union to negotiate purchases of former Romanov jewels and objets d’art.

• 1911

  London branch opens

  [1]Wartskien.wikipedia.org

  Wartski opened a London branch on New Bond Street, initially styled Wartski of Llandudno.

• 1907

  Jewellery business moves to Llandudno

  [1]Wartskien.wikipedia.org

  The jewellery operation moved to Llandudno after Charles Wartski was injured in a cycling accident.

• 1882

  Business founded in Bangor

  [1]Wartskien.wikipedia.org

  Morris Wartski established the jewellery business in Bangor, North Wales.

High-end specialist dealer combining the sale of historically important jewellery and decorative arts with museum-level scholarship, provenance research and exhibitions.

• Russian decorative arts

  Fabergé and Russian works of art

  Wartski specializes in Fabergé objects and other Russian works of art, including pieces connected with the Romanov court and the imperial collecting world. The firm’s expertise grew through purchases made after the Russian Revolution, when aristocratic collections dispersed and Soviet authorities sold selected objects abroad. Its offering combines commercial dealing with provenance research and historical interpretation.

• Antique jewellery · 1882

  Antique and historic jewellery

  The firm deals in important European and royal jewellery spanning multiple periods and styles. Its specialists assess design, materials, workmanship, ownership history and cultural context, serving collectors and institutions seeking rare pieces rather than standardized contemporary jewellery.

• Decorative arts

  Antique silver and gold boxes

  Wartski handles historic silver, gold boxes and related objects by notable European makers. These works are presented as collectible decorative arts whose value depends on craftsmanship, rarity, maker attribution, provenance and condition.

• Gemstones and intaglios · 2019

  Engraved gems

  The firm has presented engraved gems from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including examples associated with major gem engravers and historic collections. Its 2019 Multum in Parvo exhibition also placed modern collecting within the longer history of classical and European glyptic art.

• 2019Multum in Parvo

  United Kingdom

  Thomas Holman curated a Wartski exhibition of engraved gems, including works by important eighteenth- and nineteenth-century engravers.

  Outcome. The exhibition attracted specialist collector interest and highlighted Wartski’s continuing role in scholarly retail exhibitions.

  Source
• 2018Designers & Jewellery 1850–1940

  United Kingdom

  Wartski sponsored the Fitzwilliam Museum publication and related exhibition on jewellery and metalwork from 1850 to 1940.

  Outcome. The project supported the cataloguing and public interpretation of historic jewellery and metalwork.

  Source
• 2015Bejewelled Treasures

  United Kingdom · International

  Wartski was the sole sponsor of the Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition Bejewelled Treasures, devoted to Indian and Indian-influenced jewellery from the Al Thani Collection.

  Outcome. The sponsorship associated the firm with a major museum presentation of South Asian and cross-cultural jewellery.

  Source
• 2012Fabergé – A Private Collection

  United Kingdom

  Wartski staged an exhibition focused on a private collection of Fabergé works.

  Outcome. The event provided a specialist public presentation of privately held Russian decorative arts.

  Source
• 2011Japonisme: From Falize to Fabergé

  United Kingdom

  Wartski presented an exhibition curated by Katherine Purcell on Japanese influence in Western jewellery and goldsmiths’ work.

  Outcome. The exhibition connected French jewellery history with the development of Fabergé and broader Japonisme trends.

  Source
• 2006Fabergé and the Russian Jewellers

  United Kingdom

  Katherine Purcell curated a Wartski exhibition examining Fabergé and related Russian jewellers.

  Outcome. The exhibition reinforced Wartski’s role as a specialist platform for research and public education.

  Source

• 2018

  Relocation to a larger St James’s Street galleryStrategy

  Background

  After operating from several central London addresses, Wartski sought a larger premises suited to its specialist retail, exhibition and client activities.

  Action taken

  The firm moved to 60 St James’s Street in London, with an interior designed by Waldo Works.

  Aftermath

  The move established the company’s current London base and expanded its capacity for displaying important jewellery and works of art.

  Source

1. 1Wartskien.wikipedia.org