Charles Hart Jewellers started in 1820, in the Aston jewellery quarter of Birmingham, with a silversmith called Samuel Hart who founded the business and named it after his son. The trade moved to Frome in 1895 and to its present home at 4 Cheap Street in 1983. The shop is run today by Alex Hart, the 9th direct descendant of that first silversmith, the mainstay of the business since he joined in 2010.
“One of England's oldest family jewellers, established in 1820.” Discover Frome · on Charles Hart Jewellers · 4 Cheap Street
Ring resizing, claw rebuilding, chain repair, clasp work, pearl restringing, watch battery and movement service, clock and silverware tending. Our own FAQ describes resizing as “for a trained goldsmith almost the easiest job”, indicative 9ct from £20 and 18ct from £40. Bring the piece into the Cheap Street counter and we will quote against it.
Curated antique and pre-owned rings, brooches and pendants. Victorian, Edwardian, Art Deco. Each piece tested for purity at the bench; hallmarked where post-1973. Online inventory on vintagetom.co.uk. Fourteen days no-quibble return by Royal Mail Special Delivery, faux-leather gift box on every piece.
Senior pre-owned timepieces from Rolex, Cartier and Omega, fully serviced and reconditioned before sale. Alongside new from Bering, Seiko, Storm, Accurist and Sekonda. Private viewings in the back of the shop by appointment, ring Alex on the mobile to arrange.
Honest counter valuations on gold and watches, top trade prices, no obligation. We will also sell your jewellery on vintagetom.co.uk on commission, with photography and listing handled in the back office. A nine-generation jeweller's view of what your piece is actually worth, not a high-street ticket price.
The line begins in 1820 in the Aston quarter of Birmingham, where Samuel Hart, a silversmith, founded the firm and named it after his son Charles. The brothers shared the workshop. Then, late in the 1800s, another Charles moved the business out of the city to Wiltshire and opened a shop in Bradford on Avon. The building the family lived above is, oddly, still in use today as our solicitor's office.
The Frome move came in c.1895. Charles bought an existing jeweller's on Bath Street, the steep hill, and ran it until his death in 1926. George Hart followed, then George's son Philip. When George died in 1964 a punishing death-duty bill nearly closed the firm. The family saved it by selling the Weston branch and closing the village shops at Bruton and Castle Cary. Philip ran Frome and Melksham on stringent housekeeping and went on to open shops in Chippenham and in 1968 in Warminster, where the present managing director (Alex's father) first stepped behind a counter.
The Cheap Street move was 1983. The new building dates to the late 1500s, was once the Colonial Stores and then a tobacconist; stairs were installed where there had been none. Alex Hart joined the business in 2010 after a few years at Goldsmiths in Bath. He is the ninth direct descendant of the original Samuel.
The company is still up to date and modern. The online business, Vintage Tom (named after Thomas Hart, the founder's father, born 1776), opened in 2011 and sends antique jewellery from Frome to the USA, Australia, Edinburgh, Amsterdam.
“It is wonderful to think that a business can come through all events, wars, recessions, downturns and upturns and still be able to continue with the same bloodline started all those years ago by ancestor Charles.” Charles Hart Jewellers, on the 200-year anniversary
Tuesday to Saturday the counter is open; Sunday and Monday the bench is busy. Resizing, claw work, chain and clasp repair, pearl restringing, watch battery, movement and bracelet, clock service. Closing the counter two days a week is what stops the bench backing up. It is also why high-value reserves can be honoured in time for Christmas.
Victorian, Edwardian, Art Deco. Reading hallmark assay marks, setting styles and cut profiles to date a piece is something nine generations of trading teaches the bench. Pre-1973 pieces sometimes lack UK hallmarks (compulsory hallmarking arrived that year); we test the metal at the bench in-house for purity before we sell.
Gold buying, watch buying, commission sales. We will value the piece at the counter, talk you through what we see, and not press for a sale. If you would rather sell on consignment than over the counter, we will list the piece on vintagetom.co.uk with photography from the back office and take commission only on sale.
A short form to plan a visit to 4 Cheap Street. We reply within one working day with two or three suggested times. If you are travelling from outside Somerset, it is always prudent to ring or email first to make sure the shop is open; the bench-only days are Sunday and Monday.
4 Cheap Street
Frome
Somerset BA11 1BN
Phone · 01373 462089
Mobile · 07348 419481 (Alex)
Email · contact@charleshart.co.uk
Walk-up · The cobbled medieval street between Marks & Spencer and Catherine Hill, on the slope down toward the leat
Travelling a long distance? It is always prudent to ring or email first to make sure the shop is open. Mondays and Sundays are bench days, no walk-ins, but private viewings can be arranged on either day by appointment.
Yes. Our in-house goldsmith handles resizing as routine, our own FAQ wording is “it is for a trained goldsmith almost the easiest job”. If a resize does not work after the change, indicative charges to unsize again are from £20 for 9ct and from £40 for 18ct. Bring the ring into the Cheap Street counter and we will quote you against the piece.
Hallmarks where the piece is post-1973 (UK hallmarking became compulsory at that point). For anything older, we test the metal at the bench in-house for purity. Period style, settings and assay marks all read against what we have catalogued over nine generations of the trade. If we are not certain about a piece, we say so before you buy.
Yes, with pleasure. The back of the shop has a private viewing area with seating. Ring Alex on 01373 462089 or 07348 419481, or email contact@charleshart.co.uk, and we will set time aside at the counter so the conversation is unhurried. If you are travelling a long distance it is always prudent to call first to make sure we are open.
Yes. We will value the piece honestly at the counter, agree a reserve, photograph it in the back office and list it on vintagetom.co.uk. Commission is taken on sale; if it does not sell within an agreed window we return it without charge. Our online business has been running since 2011 and ships antique jewellery from the USA to Australia and from Edinburgh to Amsterdam.
A small-shop call. The bench needs days where the goldsmith is not interrupted by counter footfall, which is when resizing, claw work and watch service actually gets finished. Tuesday to Saturday 09:30 to 16:30 are the counter days. Engagement-ring and high-value viewings outside those hours can be arranged by appointment, ring Alex on the mobile.