Wolverhampton jeweller locks up for last time after 47 years

Mr Eric Beckett, 74, of E V Beckett, arrived in the UK aged 21 from his native Malta where his grandfather and uncle ran a jewellers in the capital Valetta.

His father Leslie had lost his life in the Second World War and his mother Lina had moved to Penn where he joined her after initially staying behind in Malta with his grandparents.

Mr Beckett got a job in a Wolverhampton jewellery business where his wife -to-be Jan was also employed. They went to a dance together after his first day at work and have been partners ever since.

The couple married in 1967 and started their own jewellery repair and manufacturing business in a workshop above a shop in Queen Street in what was then still the town centre.

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Mr Beckett explained: "I always wanted to work for myself. My grandfather sent all his equipment from Malta and we are still using some of it today. For instance the rolling mill that is used to produce gold wire and flatten gold is still as good as the day it arrived."

The couple moved to the shop next door when it became vacant 35 years ago and have been trading from there ever since. They added a another shop in Stafford to their portfolio seven years ago.

Now a prospective buyer has been found for the business and the couple will now retire, probably at the end of the month.

Mr Beckett said: "I always wanted to have my own shop and have enjoyed selling and talking to the customers. The best thing has been jewellery repairs and the produce of bespoke pieces of jewellery. That has been the bedrock of the business.

"But I have run my race and it is time to draw a line in the sand and let somebody else have a go. The business has changed a lot over the years . We are not dealing with so much new jewellery and more second hand pieces. There is not so much money about at the moment.

"We have had our ups and downs, survived two periods of economic depression and the summer riots that wrecked the shop causing £50,000 worth of damage. But every cloud has a silver lining because the touching reaction of so many people to our plight indicated the level of appreciation there was for the work we have done in the city."

Mrs Beckett – the couple have two daughters and four grandchildren – added: "I am looking forward to spending more time at home, seeing more of the grandchildren and having a few more holidays. We could never take the same day off while we were working together."

Her husband concluded: "I will leave with regrets and still sometimes wonder if I am doing the right thing but I am still in good health and intend to enjoy my stamp collection – only Maltese and UK stamps – along with my model railway in the loft and do a bit more gardening.

"I am really looking forward to not have to reach out to run the alarm clock off at 7am every morning."