Steve Carson Obituary

23 Feb 2023

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Mr Steve Carson FIRV on Friday, 17th February 2023, at the age of 63.

Steve was director of Searle & Co, jewellers and silversmiths in the heart of the City of London, founded in 1893. The shop closed in June 2021. He was a much-loved and respected face at the NAJ’s IRV conferences, where he regularly gave talks and workshops on antique jewellery and silver.

In the Winter 2020 issue of The Jeweller, Steve wrote a fascinating feature on the history of Searle & Co. We think it’s fitting that Steve’s own words should describe his jewellery trade story:

“It’s now 1975, and Searle has a new member of staff – me. I’d just left school, and rather than having the summer off before going to art college, my parents suggested I should get a job. One card in the window of the unemployment office seemed promising – a jewellery shop looking for an assistant, no experience necessary. My father drove me – 50 miles – to my interview a couple of days later.

"Inside, Reg and Sam were talking to two customers – one of them, amazingly, in a top hat. In 1975! The customers left, I introduced myself, was told what my duties would be and 10 minutes later was offered the job. One of my first tasks was cleaning the jewellery – placing diamond stock into a pan of boiling water with soda crystals. Some of the earlier pieces I brushed using whiting powder mixed with a little water to form a paste. One titled lady, who has known me for 45 years, was recently reminiscing about her first recollection of me. The thing she remembered was what dirty fingers I had! True – after cleaning the silver, I was often called up to the shop to wrap up something and never had time to clean those little fingers, grubby with silver polish.

"In 1993, as we celebrated Searle’s centenary, Reg retired after 45 years. Nigel, a Fellow of the Gemmological Association and an FIRV, became the new managing director. I became a director. I’m also an FIRV, as well as a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths and Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars and Freeman of the City of London.”

Steve is survived by his wife Lorraine and daughters Claire and Sophie.

Source: National Association of Jewellers