What Hamilton & Inches is known for

Hamilton & Inches has made and sold jewellery and silver as well as watches in Edinburgh since 1866. Founders Robert Inches and his uncle James Hamilton registered their hallmark with the city's assay office that year. The firm moved from Princes Street to 87 George Street in 1952 and holds a royal warrant as goldsmiths and silversmiths. Its showroom was restored in 2021 with Scottish whinstone and antique bronze.

Hamilton & Inches was founded in Edinburgh in 1866 by Robert Inches and his uncle James Hamilton. They registered their hallmark with the Edinburgh assay office on 1 June that year. The firm began on Princes Street and moved in 1952 to 87 George Street in the New Town. That single showroom remains its home. It has held a royal warrant to the British monarch as goldsmiths and silversmiths and as clock and watchmakers for more than 120 years. It also kept the royal clocks in Scotland for generations, a role renewed in 2010 as silversmiths and clock specialists to the Queen. Robert Inches helped found the city's association of goldsmiths and watchmakers in 1903 to keep shoddy goods off the market. The company passed to his son Edward. Asprey acquired it in 1992, and a management buyout in 1998 returned it to independent hands. Beyond jewellery and silver, and the watch trade, it makes sporting trophies, among them the Scottish Open and the Lanark Silver Bell. Queen Elizabeth II visited in 2016 to mark 150 years of business. The showroom was restored in 2021, clad in Scottish whinstone outside with curved glass set in antique bronze within.