Hardy Brothers
Founded in 1853 by John Hardy emigrated from England to Australia, opening his first shop in Sydney. The business quickly expanded, moving in 1855 to new premises on Hunter Street, Sydney, where it remained until 1936.
In 1894, Hardy Brothers opened a second shop at 116 Queen Street, Brisbane, Queensland. The now iconic building was designed by Richard Gailey, and is today known as the Hardy Brothers Building. Another branch was opened in 1918 at Collins Street in Melbourne.
Royal Warrant
Hardy Brothers is the only Australian jewellery business to hold a royal warrant. The warrant was first awarded by King George V of England in 1929. Over 165 years later, they continue to hold this order.
Parisian Atmosphere
ince 1980 Hardy Brothers have produced the Melbourne Cup. In a statement for The Australian Women’s Weekly, 1980, the current executive chairman, Mr Skase described the brand’s ethos: “Buyers want time to sit and enjoy the pieces. You have to really love a piece to feel that it is right before you spend that kind of money”. Hardy Brothers might have been a ‘new world’ jewellers, but they carried the intimate and exclusive atmosphere of a Parisian ‘by-appointment-only’ atelier into the Australian sun.
The business was run by members of the Hardy family until 1974 when it was acquired by Quintex. It was then bought by the McKinney family before it was purchased in 1997 by another family run Australian jewellery company Wallace Bishop. Today the fourth generation of the Bishop family, Stuart Bishop is CEO of Hardy Brothers and continues to pioneer exceptional quality Australian made fine jewellery.
The Australian Opal
A sense of history, and national pride runs throughout Hardy Brothers pieces. The Australian Opal collection is exemplary of their unique creations and celebration of the beauty of Australia’s natural resources. Ethically sourced Coober Pedy opals are set in smooth 18k gold yellow gold bezels, some with a halo of small pave diamonds. The simple setting of the earrings, rings and pendants within this collection celebrate the individual colour combinations amalgamated within each opal.
The Vault Collection
In 2020 Hardy Brothers launched the Vault Collection. The collection has been spearheaded by Stuart Bishop to celebrate the best of human endeavour. The emphasis on the collection is the hand-made. Techniques used by Renaissance and Baroque artisans have been revisited in the creation of this collection. Manual methods have been favoured over modern machines, despite being more time-consuming to create the masterly collection of unique contemporary fine jewellery.