Clockwork to cufflinks

An interesting blog post from Simon Carter, the upmarket menswear shop that is going to replace Black’s the jewellers in Blackheath.

…we’re opening a new store in Blackheath. This is an even more prosperous and leafy London suburb than Crystal palace. I’d passed by the site dozens of times; a long standing jewellers in a prime location just down from the station, on the main drag. When I saw the ‘To Let’ sign, I moved so fast I blurred. Beating other retailers off with a stick, and having to raise our offer twice, we finally secured it earlier this month.
…
The shop dates from around 1870 and retains the original frontage, right down to the curved glass windows, tessellated entrance floor and foxed Victorian mirrors above the doorway. Inside, there’s much to be done. The nineteenth century tongue and groove ceiling remains in place under a 1980’s shopfit. There’s a glorious wood panelled light well at the back, and once we start stripping out the previous generations of fixtures, more will be revealed.

From their website, they also sell watches, so some continuity from that perspective. The owner of the shop goes by the twitter name @kingofcufflinks. Lots of changes coming to the high street over the next few weeks I think…

(Thanks to Rob for spotting the post)

Blacks of Blackheath – finest Marmite jewellery!

The jewellers Blacks of Blackheath is another one of those shops that looks like it has been lost in time. From the outside, it looks very traditional, and has another one of those lovely mosaic front steps, as also seen here.

Inside, the staff were very helpful – their website says it is a family run shop, and has been there for 20 years, although it looks like 120… A watch strap replacement cost £7 and took 10 minutes, which seems reasonable.

And these bizarre silver Marmite lids were spotted on the way out, should you wish to add some bling to your breakfast.