Humble Beginnings

Rudell the Jewellers was founded on Valentine’s Day 1938 by Justin Rudell. Today Rudell’s is renowned as a jeweller of excellence and with the finest customer care in the midlands, boasting the most prestigious selection of jewellery, timepieces and luxury giftware brands.

Back in 1938 Rudells began as a retailer of leather ware and fancy goods. At the start of the Second World War Justin was enlisted and served in the Warwickshire Regiment. During 1940 whilst Justin was recovering from a bout of influenza he met his future wife Etta who later helped develop the business with him. In 1946 their son Anthony was born and from a very early age was to show a keen interest to follow in his parent’s footsteps.

Trading in Diamonds

It wasn’t until 1950 that Justin decided it was time to make the transition into Jewellery. After a meeting with his uncle who was a diamond jewellery manufacturer based in Birmingham, Justin went home one evening with a handful of diamond rings and told Etta ‘we are going into diamonds’ to which Etta replied ‘if we’re going into diamonds we will need a lot more than just these’.

Once Rudell’s started selling diamonds they soon built up a reputation for quality and value with great customer care. Over the following years this reputation was enhanced by the addition of several other jewellery ranges and watch brands.

Evolution

1986 was the year when opportunity knocked again when Rudells purchased their premises in Harborne, again a natural instinct for success paid off. The Harborne showroom also began from humble beginnings and with a similar expansion programme in 1992, 1996 and 2009 is today nearly three times the original size.

Service

After sales service has been a major feature for Rudells in recent times, Jon Weston, Director of Rudells has pioneered the set up and installation of state of the art watch workshops at both showrooms. Coupled with a jewellery workshop on location in Harborne, Rudells boast one of their unique selling points, to size a new ring whilst the client sips a glass of chilled champagne. This really is customer care at its best.

A Change in Management

In 2010 Anthony handed over the role of Managing Director to Jon Weston who had been a key figure in the company’s development for more than two decades. With Anthony’s full support, Jon and the management team continued to push the business forward with new innovative ideas whilst retaining the ethos of Rudells, that being, of a “family jeweller” who genuinely care about their clients and the exceptional personal service offered by the Midlands premier jeweller.

John Harlow, sales director, with over 35 years loyal service thrives on working closely with the sales team, he has contributed greatly to the mentoring of the staff, his words of wisdom have helped all those who join the team understand the true core values of Rudells.

Refurbishment in Wolverhampton

2012 was a year we invested greatly in the transformation of our Wolverhampton showroom. The building which we have occupied since 1938 was completely renovated from the ground floor, up to and including the roof. The sales floor also underwent major redesigning too, featuring internal branded areas and exquisite new jewellery cabinets. This meticulous task took two 2 years of planning and consultation prior to completion. The experts involved ensured that we restored the building sympathetically whilst being able to modernising our appearance.

The finished project is quite a leap forward from our humble beginnings over seven decades ago, the displays are now light defined and airy with a warm exclusive atmosphere.

Rudells Celebrate 75 Years

On February 14th 2013, Valentine’s Day, we celebrated 75 years in business. The year was marked with special events and celebrations and the launch of our “Legacy” collection which was designed in-house as a tribute to Justin Rudell who open the doors for the very first time way back in 1938.

We also said a fond farewell to John Harlow, Sales Director, who hung up his loupe at the beginning of May after completing 35 years of loyal service with Rudells. John has has now embarked on many hobbies and interests and is enjoying his retirement, mostly on the golf course! As one director retired another was appointed to the board, Sioux Jones who has been with Rudells for almost 20 years saw her hard work, efforts and commitment to Rudells rewarded with a directorship. Sioux is delighted at the opportunity to help drive the company forward and is working closely with Jon Weston to ensure the future success of the company.

A Vision of Excellence

At over 40 square meters, it took several months to ‘fine tune’ the finished design which incorporates the trademark Rolex green wall. Also featured are bespoke inset wall cabinets and a free-standing display counter. This doubles as a reception area, where clients can relax with a glass of champagne before their Rolex journey commences.

The rich and warm tones of the wood contrast perfectly with the luxurious carpet and tiled walls, the overall effect definitely exudes quality of the very highest caliber.

When we purchased the neighbouring property in 2019, we knew from the start that we wished to create an impressive sales area for Rolex and this works so perfectly. With so much interior and window display options we are now able to showcase this prestige brand to its best advantage. We are also delighted with the way the new space merges perfectly with the original showroom.

Rolex was relocated from its original space and impressively, is now several times larger than before.

This demonstrates how we respect the brand and its creativity. As Rudells has grown, so has our determination to provide the highest level of service and the finest environment. We are determined in our pursuit to create a warm, friendly, welcoming showroom, where our clients and friends can relax and take their time considering their next purchase.

Tradition versus Innovation

Our showroom continues a stunning transformation with an ultra-modern stylish and sophisticated Patek Philippe Salon. This part of the showroom has been remodeled to allow for the bespoke Patek Philippe display cabinets and furniture which were all manufactured exclusively for Rudells.

With a more formal sales position and a relaxed ‘chill’ area, the world’s most famous timepiece manufacturer has helped us create a space which is calm and tranquil. This also provides our Patek Philippe Specialists with an environment that is luxurious, easy to work with and further enhances the reputation of the brand.

The transformation of the showroom was completed in just a few short weeks, all the Wolverhampton team are thrilled with the magnificent new look. Jon Weston summed up the mood upon completion of the works by saying “Once again the staff and management in our Wolverhampton showroom have embraced the exciting changes we have made to their environment. They love the sophisticated feel and really engage the principle that customer service is king. The team cherish that our new look showroom is our clients’ palace”.