Basingstoke’s Petra Jewellery celebrates 45 years

'I can quite confidently say we are Hampshire's best loved jewellers.'

It's quite a claim to be made by Petra Jewellery's Mitch Lloyd, but the Google reviews don't lie.

'Everyone leaves here happy,' she adds. 'We share the sparkle.'

The business, located at Basingstoke's Viables Craft Centre, offers a bespoke commission service, as well as running a range of workshops and carrying out repairs. The team prides itself on its personal approach, with customers making appointments to discuss their individual needs, meaning they receive a jeweller's full attention.

And that USP is what leads to all those Google reviews, believes Mitch.

This hand made solid gold bangle was created using the customer's inherited gold, and laying out their diamonds from grandma's eternity ring to set into it. (Image: Petra Jewellery) It's a far cry from the company's hugely humble beginnings. Born in post-war Germany to parents both struggling with the aftermath of the conflict, Petra Moore was raised in a nunnery, where she had more of a creative than an academic upbringing. She discovered a passion for goldsmithing after seeing an apprenticeship advertised in a local magazine. An eye for attention to detail and a determination to succeed saw her graduate top of her course - high standards that would stand her in good stead when it came to a career in the jewellery business.

She was soon swept off her feet by a dashing young British Army officer, whom she met while skiing in the Alps with her father. Not wanting to follow him when he was posted back to the UK without some form of security, Petra married her beau and found herself an army wife living in Catterick in the north of England, not speaking any English.

It wasn't until 1979, when her then husband left the army and the couple moved to Basingstoke, that Petra set up her own jewellery business at Viables Craft Centre on the Harrow Way, when Mitch was just four years old. With no money to buy stock to sell, she gradually made an income carrying out repairs and alterations for local people and soon the word began to spread.

Three generations of the family - Mitch, daughter Heidi and mum Petra (Image: Petra Jewellery) 'Mum was a sole trader for years,' says Mitch, who initially followed in her father's footsteps by joining the Army for four years, after being encouraged to study Mechanical Engineering at Swansea University. She later worked as a construction project manager travelling all over the country but, by the time she reached her 30s and wanted to start a family, she felt the need for a career change which would see her more settled at home.

'I was in a little stable beside mum, observing everything,' she says. 'I learnt on the job so, at 30-something, I was doing an apprenticeship. But I never picked up the tools, I was always going to be customer facing.'

As she learnt more about the business, Mitch found herself full of ideas to move things forward.

'I said "you need a website". I said "you can't send people down to the petrol station to get cash out for a £2,000 ring", so we set up card payments and email.

The team pride themselves on creating unique pieces. (Image: Petra Jewellery) 'Mum let me do what I wanted,' she smiles. 'She just let me try stuff and was supportive of every single idea that I had. She has this German clarity, even now at 76. We literally have a phrase "be more Petra", which is how we explain things.

'I really embrace the fact that we've got that German influence ­— not just in the quality of the product, but also the German influence with the honesty.

'We don't want something going out the shop that's the same as everything else on the high street. I think by differentiating ourselves in that respect, we built a lot of trust.'

As the business grew –it moved into a double unit on the site in 2008 – so did the family, with the arrival of Mitch's daughter Heidi. Literally born into the industry, Heidi, now 14, has grown up helping out by putting stickers on brochures, cleaning and, latterly, social media advice, although Mitch admits she's not sure yet if she'll join the family business when she's older.

The Petra Jewellery team. (Image: Meghan Claire) 'Teenagers are very honest – just like German mothers.,' she laughs. 'I think, just like me, it will be amazing for her to go out and life her life. If, at some point, she'd like to come back and join the business, the answer is 100 per cent yes.'

The reputation of the business continued to grow and, in 2014, Petra Jewellery was awarded the Britain’s Most Loved Jewellers Award.But Mitch says she had a feeling success was running away with them, admitting 'there was a day when I felt we had created a monster - it was really busy and stressful.

'I had enough money to keep me going for three months and then I was in debt. I was looking at how to liquidate a business. My business mentor said "don't save your business if it's not right for you" – I was not prepared to go into debt for something I didn't love any more.

Petra passes on her knowledge to daughter Mitch. (Image: Meghan Claire) 'Covid actually did us a favour. We were at the bottom of the non-essential list and we furloughed a lot of the staff. 'Myself and the manager were delivering jewellery to people. Every doorstep we stood on, I was there for half an hour. People were telling me what their jewellery meant to them – that something belonged to their dad, who was no longer with them, or they had had it since they were 16 and never taken it off.

'I realised the mental health of the nation was about the memories and connections that jewellery gave them. That fuelled my desire and my motivation to fall in love with what I did. It was a really good psychological process to go through to know that I wanted to save my business.'

When the world gradually started to open back up, people were only allowed back into the jewellers if they made an appointment, or set up a call on Zoom. It was a revelation for Mitch.

'That was the final piece of the jigsaw. That took away the stress of having 20 people turn up at once.

The original newspaper clipping from the Southern Evening Echo, when Petra set up the business in 1979. (Image: Petra Jewellery) 'People make appointments now and come and see us. It works. And we've got clients all over the world now we can do consultations online.'

That personal touch is something that's remained a constant since the day Petra founded the business with her handcrafted pieces.

'For the last few years, mum hasn't been as involved in the business, but a lot of her customers are her friends now,' says Mitch, adding that the pair meet up for regular dog walks where they discuss 'everything - children, the business, husbands...!'

And, despite having gone through some hard times with the business, she's thrilled she is once again in the enviable position of loving what she does.

Petra and daughter Mitch examining diamonds. (Image: Meghan Claire) 'I think, although I used to be in the army and a project manager, I'm really quite introverted,' she explains. 'I really can cope well with listening to someone and figuring out what they need. So sitting in front of someone and they say "design me a ring", my mind just explodes with ideas. You can see when their eyes light up.

'And everybody loves someone listening to them and reading them and interpreting them. I ask you about your lifestyle. It's that mix of understanding the human and what they love, but also bringing in the practical elements as well. I can't think of another job where you combine all that.

'You make a living out of getting to know someone really intimately. Most pieces of jewellery are made to represent something or someone. We see the human. It's not just about the jewellery, it's about what the jewellery represents.'

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Petra Jewellery staff outside the business in Basingstoke. (Image: Meghan Claire)