Dealing in jewelry from the Roman era to the Art Nouveau era, Hartley Brown got his start in the jewelry business in Scotland, where his grandfather and father had a store in Glasgow. Hartley began working in the shop on weekends when he was just 15 years old. A few years later he left Glasgow for London, where he got serious about jewelry.
The Carrington Years
When Hartley arrived in London he got a job working at Carrington, a jewelry store founded in 1780, with royal warrants from Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, King Edward VII and King George V as well as the Russian royal court. Ambition led Hartley to pursue more in his career. He started by looking around at auction houses that were near Carrington during his lunch break and then he went a step further. “I started going to the Portobello Road Market buying and selling jewelry,” recalls Hartley, who is a member of the Society of Jewelry Historians of the United Kingdom. “I would get to the market at 6:30 in the morning and I would be there until I left to go to my job at Carrington at 8:30. On Wednesday, I would go to the Camden Passage and on Thursday I would go to the Hampstead Antique Market.”
Growing a Business
In 1977 Hartley began sharing a stand with another dealer, Michael Smookler, at the Portobello Road Market. The two were on a constant hunt for jewelry and they started visiting the country auctions in England and Scotland; it was not unusual for them to get up at 3:00 in the morning to begin their search. It wasn’t long after that, when Hartley began going to Paris to buy jewelry, which then expanded into trips to Belgium, Holland, Germany and Switzerland. In 1980 he started coming to the U.S. “I was coming to New York seven or eight times a year. Then I did the Miami Beach show and met a lot of dealers. I started going to Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco,” says Hartley who, after spending 35 years in London, moved with his family to New York in 2004 and has been in the City ever since.
Art Nouveau
Hartley, who specializes in carved stones, intaglios and rare certified gemstones as well as antique and period jewelry, counts Art Nouveau as his favorite design movement. “I’ve handled a lot of Art Nouveau, a lot of Lalique and Fouquet,” says Hartley. “I find it interesting because of the workmanship, the flowing lines, freedom of movement and originality of the designs, it was a completely relaxed artistic movement.”
One of the pieces that Hartley considers the most interesting of his 60-year career was a Lalique necklace commissioned by French author Emile Zola. The necklace showcased portraits on Limoge enamel of the writer’s children. “I got a phone call from one of the specialists at an auction house in Paris letting me know that the necklace was going up for sale. The day after the sale, I got a call saying the necklace hadn’t sold and would I like to see it? I bought it from Zola’s granddaughter through the expert at the auction house,” explains Hartley.
Personal Favorites
Hartley confesses to being particularly fond of the grotesque; jewelry that features carvings with animated faces. “I love expressions. I like the strength of the expressions,” he says, noting that he has kept some of the finer examples for his own personal collection.
After 60 years in the jewelry business, what is it that keeps Hartley Brown coming back every day? “It’s the variety. You never know what you will come across,” concludes Hartley. “Every day is different.”
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Rose-cut diamond, pearl, enamel, 18-karat gold and sardonyx cameo pendant, French, circa 1860; Natural color 15.45-carat spessartite garnet, diamonds, platinum and 18-karat gold ring, accompanied by an American Gemological Laboratory report; Art Nouveau natural pearl, plique-a-jour enamel and 18-karat gold pendant by Rene Foy. Floral Pendant with vivid green plique-a-jour and two hand chiseled enameled flowers with a natural pearl drop. This pendant was exhibited at the Paris Exhibition of 1900. French circa 1898-1899. It is Illustrated in the Books of Paris Exhibitions by Alastair Duncan; Hardstone jasper, matte carving of expressive face, late Renaissance, personal collection of Hartley Brown.
Authored by Amber Michelle