YARD

In 1898, aged thirteen he started as a messenger boy for Marcus & Co. In the evenings he followed classes in jewellery making and at Marcus he received hands-on training. In 1906 he became a salesman and eventually general manager of Marcus & Co. Sixteen years later (1922) Raymond Yard opened his own jewellery firm where he provided his clients with a great deal of privacy and personalised service. During the first years the Yard pieces were supplied by outside manufacturing firms; he supplied the stones and dictated the style of his jewellery. Within a few years a discernible Yard style emerged; a style of complicated and lavish pieces. In the 1930s he concentrated on the use of platinummounted with fantatsic sapphires and rubies, as well as fancy-cut diamonds. During the war years of the 1940s the use of platinum was prohibited and the import of precious stones became scarce. Semiprecious stones and metals such as palladium brought out the experimental and progressive side of Yard. After the Second World War platinum returned in the 1950s. In those years Yard also produced trendy and chic gold jewellery and started the import of yellow-gold mountings designed and manufactured in France. In 1958 Yard retired  and the company went to three of his employees for free. One of them was Robert Gibson who became in 1980 the sole owner. His son ook over the firm in 1989. He wanted to recapture the essence of Yard. To this day Yard jewellery presents an unique mix of vintage and modern.