september | business…

ER Aubrey's featuring Linda Gittings Q & A with Scott Hill

ER Aubrey's

It all started in 1954 with one store in Hamilton. Now, ER Aubrey’s has 5 locations that encompass the island. As one of the top retailers in Bermuda, expand on some of your favorite memories of the past?

Mr. Elystan Reynold Aubrey began by selling basic jewellery, gold crosses, wedding bands and watches in velvet cases door to door. It didn’t matter if you were rich or poor, if you were an honest, working person he would let you pay a little every month. His business grew and he was eventually able to open his first store on Queen Street. Since Mr. Aubrey’s death in 1994, ER Aubrey’s has continued to grow. We opened stores in St. Georges and Dockyard and we continue to provide service in Hamilton at 101 Front Street and 19 Queen Street. Our plans for the future are to continue to provide for our customers’ jewellery needs. We are now manufacturing jewellery for the Caribbean and Alaska. Our custom designs come from our customers asking for something a little different. We will bring in GIA, EGL or IGI certified diamonds from 1 to 10-carats and design a one of a kind piece. When we are asked to take an 18-carat Tanzanite from one ring and put it in another- no problem- this is what makes us stand out from the crowd- being flexible and able to satisfy our customers. Because we manufacture a large selection of our own designs, we are able to lower the cost of a piece; from the diamonds, the gemstones, gold, platinum and labor- that is what we do best. We guarantee our prices, quality and service. I love my staff and what I do, that’s what makes ER Aubrey’s successful. “ You don’t have to be royalty to wear the crown jewels.”

Please explain what an Oved clarity-enhanced diamond is? Also, what do you mean by a 2-carat look for a 1-carat price?

“Oved” is a trademarked name for an advanced laser treatment process that is used to remove tiny, natural carbon inclusions and replace them with a heat resistant material that is undetectable to the naked eye. For the customer this means that an Oved treated diamond now looks and for all intents and purposes is the same as a diamond that can cost twice as much.

Elaborate on your signature “Bermuda Collection.”

ER Aubreys is always designing and manufacturing new pieces of jewelry. We have had our popular standard charms for years, the Long Tail, the Bermuda island etc. This year we have decided to create a collection of filigree gold and diamond pieces that would represent Bermuda’s heritage. We are so excited that our beautiful island will be celebrating our 400th anniversary next year, we have decided to create our “Bermuda Collection.” This will feature dancing Gombeys, a traditional Bermuda kite, the Bermudiana flower, whimsical Bermuda shorts, a whistling frog and of course the island outlined in diamonds.

You mention that ER Aubrey’s has one of the largest collection of Spanish coins on the island. How did you acquire all these Spanish coins and how have your jewelers worked their magic on the designs?

We found that our customers wanted more treasure coin jewellery, so we increased the number of designs that our jewelers could use, incorporating the various interesting shapes that coins were made in hundreds of years ago. We are constantly looking for new sources for the coins themselves.

Tell us all about the Bermuda Lucky Stone?

The Bermuda Luck Stone is made by fusing four different colors of lab grown quartz into a single, beautiful, sparkling gemstone that represents “Good Friends, Family, Good Health and Wealth”. It has become a customer favorite.