What a fantastic lunch was had at Judges Country House Hotel, Yarm with our guest speaker, Susan Rumfitt. Thank you to those who supported us and helped us to raise the amazing amount of £3826 for our students!!

We are so grateful to Susan who is a well respected and knowledgeable specialist and lecturer on the history of jewellery and has been one of the specialists the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow for over 12 years. Susan is a Freeman of the Goldsmiths’ Company.

Her presentation was about the fascinating House of Chanel!

The House of Chanel

Chanel was a woman who brought a sense of freedom to fashion and jewellery design. She is seen as having invented the look of the twentieth century, taking women out of corsets and putting them into bathing costumes. With Chanel costume jewellery became acceptable not only when worn on its own but also when intertwined with gem jewellery. This presentation will delve into the character of Chanel so that we can understand how her romantic relationships helped to shape her style both in fashion and jewellery design, creating one of the most successful brands of all time.