Mappin and Webb

Mappin & Webb is a jewellery company headquartered in the United Kingdom. Mappin & Webb traces its origins to a silver workshop founded in 1775. It now has retail stores in the UK. It has held Royal Warrants to British monarchs since 1897. The company's master craftsman Martin Swift is the current Crown Jeweller of the United Kingdom.

Mappin & Webb traces its origins to 1775, when Jonathan Mappin opened a silver workshop in Sheffield, then as now a major centre of the English silver trade. The business eventually became Mappin Brothers.

One of Jonathan Mappin's great grandsons, John Mappin, started his own business in London, Mappin & Company, in 1860, which became Mappin, Webb & Co. in 1862 after John Mappin was joined by his brother-in-law George Webb. The first Mappin & Webb store opened in 1860 at 77-78 Oxford Street, London and the company’s candleabras, fine silverware and vanity products swiftly gained renown. As a natural progression from silverware, Mappin & Webb began designing jewellery. Mappin, Webb & Co. acquired Mappin Brothers in 1903.

Mappin & Webb expanded internationally beginning in the 1890s. Its first overseas store was established in Johannesburg and stores soon followed in Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Biarritz, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Cairo and Bombay. However all international stores closed in the second half of the 20th century.

Mappin & Webb has created jewellery for royalty both in the United Kingdom and internationally. Patrons have included Queen of France Marie-Antoinette, the Empress of Russia and Princess Grace of Monaco. The company historically held Royal Warrants to both the Russian Empire and the Japanese Royal Household. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch to commission Mappin & Webb. Victoria's Golden Jubilee necklace was created by the house in 1888 and was designated by the queen as an heirloom of the Crown. Mappin & Webb has held Royal Warrants in the UK since 1897. Today, Mappin & Webb holds warrants to both the Queen and the Prince of Wales. Mappin & Webb’s master craftsman Martin Swift was appointed in 2012 to the position of Crown Jeweller, the custodian of the British Crown Jewels who is responsible for preparing them for the State opening of Parliament and other state occasions.

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