Antique Garnet Diamond Ruby Gold and Silver Lobster Tie Pin, Circa 1895

A Victorian lobster tie pin, hat pin or stick pin, with the body of the lobster carved from a single piece of garnet, with rose-cut diamonds set in the claws head and tail fins, with cabochon ruby set eyes, in silver grain settings, mounted in gold, on a plain gold polished pin, in a Hunt & Roskell, Late Storr & Mortimer, London case, circa 1895.

Hunt & Roskell, Late Storr & Mortimer

Hunt & Roskell was a renowned firm of manufacturing jewellers and silversmiths, on Bond Street, in London, who for many years held the Royal Warrant of Queen Victoria. It was founded by Paul Storr, who had left Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, to set up his own workshop on Harrison Street, near Clerkenwell, in 1819, trading as Storr & Co. In 1822, he went into partnership with John Mortimer and began trading from 13 New Bond Street as Storr & Mortimer. In 1826 they took an additional partner, John Samuel Hunt, who had assisted Storr from the start. He brought with him a welcome investment capital of £5000. The firm was increasingly successful and in 1838 they moved to new premises, at 156 New Bond Street, settling in just prior to the retirement of Paul Storr, at the end of December that year. This prompted a name change, to Mortimer and Hunt, which the business operated under from 1839 until 1843, when John Mortimer retired and the name changed once again, to Hunt & Roskell. At this time the partners were John Samuel Hunt, who continued until his death in 1865, his son John Hunt, Robert Roskell Jn. (son of the respected pocket watch maker Robert Roskell from Liverpool) and Charles Frederick Hancock. The firm entered a period of growth and prosperity. They were creating wonderful pieces of silverware and impressive jewellery, exhibiting at the Great Exhibition, in 1851, at the Crystal Palace in London’s Hyde. By this time they had been granted the Royal Warrant by Queen Victoria. They also participated in the 1853 New York and 1867 Paris exhibitions.  In 1839 they briefly had store in New York under the name Storr & Mortimer, however it closed in 1841. By the 1860s they were reported to be employing 35 people, at the New Bond Street shop and a further 80-100, at the factory on Harrison Street. Both Robert Roskell’s son Allan and John Hunt’s son, John Mortimer Hunt, joined their fathers in the firm. After the death of John Hunt in 1879, his son and the two Messrs Roskells continued in partnership until 1888, when Robert Roskell died, leaving Allan Roskell and John Mortimer Hunt to run the business between them. The following year, in 1889, the two men decided to dissolve their partnership and sell the business.  It was acquired by J.W. Benson, of Ludgate Hill, who kept the name and continued trading under Hunt & Roskell until 1897, when it was converted into a limited company and styled Hunt & Roskell Ltd. which is how it remained, until trading ceased towards the end of the 1960s.

 With thanks to Hancocks’ website, citing The British Museum website, sourcing: Culme, J., 'The Directory of Gold and Silversmiths, Jewellers and Allied Traders 1838-1914', Woodbridge 1987, Thompson "Watches" London 2008, Bury, S., 'The Lengthening Shadow of Rundells', Connoisseur 161, February, March, April 1966, Loomes, B. (2006). "Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World", N.A.G. Press, London, Britten, F.J. (1986). "Old Clocks and Watches and Their Makers - A History of Styles in Clocks and Watches and their Mechanisms", Bloomsbury Books, London