Hancocks Jewellers Manchester

Hey kittens, today’s blog post is all about a really exciting and exclusive intimate blogger event I attended recently at Hancocks Jewellers in Manchester. Located in a quiet and luxurious corner of King Street, Manchester City Centre, it is the home of two of my favourite things – diamonds and champagne. Oooh. Posh.

As I was greeted into the little jewellery haven, it was like stepping into another world. Despite being housed on one of the busiest high end streets in Manchester, you could hear a pin (or a diamond) drop inside Hancocks. The staff, all of which have worked there for many, MANY years (I’m talking 8, 16, 30 years!) are so very knowledgable and welcoming, and made me feel right at home whilst at the same time feeling pretty out of my comfort zone. When asked if I had ever been in before, I scoffed; ‘who? me? no way, it’s too posh for me!’

And in a lot of ways, I was right – it is super posh and I suspect almost all of their clients are of the posh variety. I admit, I was nosey enough to ask whether many celebrities pop by and I was told that a number of sports and TV stars are regulars (although the staff were far too professional to tell me exactly who they were, despite my probing!)

However, as we sipped glasses of champagne, I was told that as well as selling to the highly posh, Hancocks also stock a collection of Georg Jensen jewellery. Specialising in silver jewellery and the official jeweller to Denmark’s royal family, the Copenhagen based designer creates gorgeous and timeless art deco pieces starting from £150 upwards. Not cheap as chips, but certainly affordable if you’re looking for a special present.

After admiring Georg Jensen’s classic designs, it was time for the real fun; the diamonds! I watched in awe as a tray of jewellery easily worth half a million pounds was produced in front of me. Glittering in front of me, there were more diamonds than I had ever seen. I felt like I was visiting the Tower of London and admiring the Royal collection. Now, THIS was posh.

Incredibly, Hancocks allowed us to try on a diamond bracelets, earrings and necklaces, including a white diamond necklace worth £60,000 (yes, really!). I also loved the white diamond bangle, and another emerald and diamond bracelet that fitted perfectly to the shape of your wrist.

My favourite, however, was the huge £148,000 yellow diamond engagement ring. Aside from being absolutely stunning, I was told that the rock on this one was ‘internally flawless’ – surely a compliment that anyone would strive for, yet alone within a diamond! Trying it on, I definitely got a few tummy flutters, and had a mini heart attack when I thought I had got it stuck on my ring finger. Although, there was a secret glimmer of hope that I would just HAVE to keep it on forever…

Despite not being in the market for an engagement ring myself, or even a regular wearer of fine jewellery, Hancocks has certainly stuck in my mind for it’s family heritage, Manchester roots (their only store has been based here since 1860) and welcoming staff. They even told me they aren’t afraid to work with a set budget, and usually ask this outright, which I guess is pretty handy when there’s so much to choose from!