F. Hinds is a jewellery

retailing Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

, operating in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

. There are currently 116 F Hinds stores within the United Kingdom.

History

Beginnings (1856-1990)

The chain is an independent retailer which was founded in 1856 by George Henry Hinds, although his father Joseph was also a clockmaker in

Stamford, Lincolnshire Stamford is a town and civil parish in the South Kesteven District of Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 19,701 and estimated at 20,645 in 2019. The town has 17th- and 18th-century stone buildings, older timber-framed ...

and his great uncle was also a Stamford clockmaker in the early years of the 1800s. Shortly after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, brothers Frank and William divided the business in two.

William Hinds William Hinds (21 November 1887 – 1 June 1957), stage name Will Hammer, was one of the founders of Hammer Film Productions. Jeweller Hinds was a jeweller from London who, with his brother Frank, owned and ran Hinds Jewellers. Hinds and h ...

diversified into theatres and also into films as he was one of the two founders of Hammer Film Productions. Frank continued with the jewellery business and eventually, in 1990, F. Hinds took over the one remaining shop owned by the other half of the family in

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...

, Sussex. Brands operated by F. Hinds include My Diamonds

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...

jewellery Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a wester ...

, the Aureus gold on sterling silver jewellery collection and the

Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...

Tanzanite Tanzanite is the blue and violet variety of the mineral zoisite (a calcium aluminium hydroxyl sorosilicate), caused by small amounts of vanadium. Tanzanite belongs to the epidote mineral group. Tanzanite is only found in Simanjiro District of M ...

collection.

Opening of online store (1997-2005)

The chain was one of the first click and mortar jewellers, having launched its first e-commerce site in 1997. The shops provide a design and repair service and also specialise in recycling unwanted gold jewellery into new pieces.

RJC Certification (2008-2018)

In 2008, F Hinds joined the Responsible Jewellery Council, the international

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organisation established to reinforce consumer confidence in the jewellery industry by advancing responsible business practices throughout the supply chain, and in August 2011 they were one of the first members to become fully accredited following an independent audit. In 2014 Andrew Hinds was elected Chairman of the UK jewellery trade body the National Association of Goldsmiths. It later merged with the British Jewellers' Association and became the National Association of Jewellers. Hinds remained on the National Committee of the National Association of Jewellers until the end of his term in June 2020.

Acquisition of Chapelle Jewellery (2019-present)

In 2019, Hinds Ltd purchased the UK's leading outlet centre specialist, Chapelle. Chapelle had traded successfully for several decades but had struggled under

Hilco Hilco Global is an American financial services holding company. It operates over twenty businesses and specializes in asset valuation, advisory, monetization, and disposition services. Headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, it has offices th ...

which lead to its eventual administration; however, Hinds saved 12 of the stores. The outlet centre stores and website www.chapelle.co.uk continue to operate under the Chapelle brand name. In March 2022, the first new Chapelle store under F Hinds' ownership opened in the

Designer Outlet West Midlands The Designer Outlet West Midlands is an outlet shopping centre near Cannock, Staffordshire, England. It is owned by McArhurGlen Group and is the company's 7th designer outlet in the UK. Permission was granted for the construction of the shop ...

Cannock Cannock () is a town in the Cannock Chase district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It had a population of 29,018. Cannock is not far from the nearby towns of Walsall, Burntwood, Stafford and Telford. The cities of Lichfield and Wolverh ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hinds, F. Retail companies established in 1856 Retail companies based in London Jewellery retailers of the United Kingdom Family-owned companies of the United Kingdom Retail companies of the United Kingdom Privately held companies of the United Kingdom Privately held companies based in London 1856 establishments in England Jewellery companies of the United Kingdom British companies established in 1856 1856 establishments in the United Kingdom Companies established in 1856