E. Podolsky & Co Design

A design for an art deco clip brooch set with diamonds and rubies, from the E. Podolsky & Co design archive, circa 1925.

Paul Podolsky’s career in jewellery spanned over 70 years. A Liveryman of the Goldsmiths’ Company, he worked both behind the bench and at the executive’s desk, and served in senior positions on almost all of the country’s major trade bodies. 

The son of Ukrainian parents who had moved to the UK in 1915, his father, Eyna Podolsky, had built up a successful fine jewellery business in Charles Street (now Greville Street), Hatton Garden.  As a boy, Paul made friends with the large team of diamond mounters, setters and apprentices and he learnt to make tools, to melt scrap and to operate machinery.

In the harsh post-war climate, which included a punitive purchase tax on jewellery, the firm was forced to change direction by producing cheaper, 9 ct gold items and acquiring the jewellery sections of the large manufacturers Blanckensee and Albion Chain.  However Paul continued his father’s tradition of training apprentices to the same exacting standards.  He has trained 10 apprentices during his career, firmly believing the craft needs technical expertise to survive.

Initially unable to afford a professional designer, he designed the firm’s products himself, using the drawing skills he first nurtured as a teenager.