The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 40: Dec/Jan 2018/19 | Page 22

BESPOKE JEWELLERY STEEPED IN HERITAGE A Master Goldsmith based in the heart of Bradford on Avon is helping to keep the British jewellery trade alive. In a time when mass produced imports are flooding the market. Orton Jewellery is a thriving business built on a solid foundation of quality bespoke products, outstanding customer care and traditional craftsmanship. Owner Lee Orton set up his shop and studio in the Wiltshire town in 2001. The company undertakes all manner of commissions ranging from engagement rings to birthday presents and objects d’art. “80 per cent of our work is commissions. Everything is made on site here or at my workshop,” explained Lee, who mastered his trade at the Birmingham School of Jewellery. “From a young age I decided I wanted to do something creative. I was particularly good at working with my hands and enjoyed working with detail, making things like Airfix models. Making jewellery was a natural progression for me. “When I learned my trade the courses were very hands on; learning bench skills and understanding how to make fine jewellery. A - lot of the tools we use today are the same as they were in the 16th century. We have some modern equipment but overall the processes are the same. I like to keep everything hand-made as much as we can to ensure the pieces we make are unique.” As an employer, Lee takes as much pride in training his team as he does creating fine pieces. “Over the years I have trained 18 apprentices,“ he added. “It’s important to us to retain staff and also to find local people to work for us. It’s rare to find authentic English jewellers these days because there is a huge skill shortage. I like to train people here and employ local workers, helping to develop their skill sets. Three of my current employees live in Bradford on Avon and one is based in Bath.” Lee’s personal approach to business 22 THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2018 has helped him to forge lasting customer relationships with buyers across the globe. Alongside commissions from the USA, Australia, Switzerland and Singapore, Lee and his highly skilled team also regularly welcome visitors from London. The success of the business is in no small part due to Lee’s ethos of working closely with customers. “We are very sympathetic to their needs” he added, “Jewellery is so symbolic, it’s a very personal thing. We don’t like people to rush and buy, we like them to take their time, especially for things like wedding and engagement rings which are going to be there for life.” A core part of Orton’s business is remodelling. Taking pieces of sentimental value and recreating them, preserving heritage and history whilst creating beautiful jewellery for the modern age. Something that takes skill, diligence, and years of training. “We want to get it right and I want everybody walking out of our shop happy. We spend a long time with people getting to know them and understand what they want. They buy into our family and our business because we buy into theirs. “We see people come back to us time and time again, from getting engaged, getting married, getting the eternity ring, having children – we see people all the way through.” To find out more about Orton Jewellery visit the shop on Market Street, Bradford on Avon or go to ortonjewellery.co.uk IT SUPPORT  CLOUD  CONNECTIVITY  ARE YOUR IT RELATED ISSUES GIVING YOU A HEADACHE? Systemagic provide people focused IT support, cloud and internet services with no long term contracts to businesses in Bath, Somerset, Wiltshire and beyond. Let us focus on your techie niggles, so you don’t have to! WWW.SYSTEMAGIC.CO.UK | [email protected] | 01225 426 800