Michael Wainwright on Boodles' journey since winning Walpole's British Luxury Brand of the Year award

Walpole: Personally, what was it like on the night to accept the award?

Michael Wainwright: Don’t tell my wife, but I think it was the night of my life! Winning the British Luxury Brand of the Year award was the culmination of many, many years of building the Boodles brand. It is, of course, always a work in progress, but it was so rewarding to see all our hard work over the past five, ten, twenty years acknowledged.

What did it mean for your business to win the award?

It was huge. It’s the biggest award we have ever won as a company. The whole company was on cloud nine after winning it – particularly those employees who have been with us for a long time and have seen the company grow from the good provincial county jeweller it was four decades ago into a well-known national brand. It was a really fabulous feeling!

Since your win, what have the major milestones been for Boodles?

Whether it’s a result of the award or some of the sponsorship we have embarked on in the last few years, such as the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Chelsea Flower Show, but Boodles has become far better known since Covid – there is no doubt about it. We have quietly yet clearly communicated that we received the Walpole British Luxury Brand of the year, which has helped.

Another recent milestone has been the bedding-in to the business of my twin children, Geordie and Honour – Honour has just been made a director. They have both made, and continue to make, such a positive impact on our company, and it means so much to me that they are involved. I feel thrilled that the next generation down from my nephews is secured, and I am confident that the company is in very good hands for years to come.

What’s your proudest achievement at Boodles over the past year?

Aside from winning British Luxury Brand of the Year, I am proud of our partnership with the National Gallery to celebrate its bicentenary. Our design team have created the most remarkable range they have ever worked on. 'The Boodles National Gallery Collection' falls into four families: 'Play of Light', 'Motherhood', 'Perspective' and 'Brushstrokes'. It is a beautiful interpretation of a lot of the masterpieces in the National Gallery and, as a part of that celebration, we are sponsoring the gallery's Discover Constable & The Hay Wain exhibition opening in October. I’d say in the last year that has been the most remarkable new thing we have done.

What advice would you have for any brands working on their entries for the British Luxury Brand of the Year award?

My father used to say ‘Nil Desperandum’ – never despair! We have put entries into the best brand of the year multiple times without succeeding. But we carried on knocking on the door and at last we were lucky enough to be honoured with the award. So don't give up!

Can you tell us about an exciting development or partnership for Boodles in the coming year?

We have just renewed our association with Cheltenham Racecourse to sponsor the Cheltenham Gold Cup for the next three years, which will bring our partnership to a total of six years. We are also celebrating our 25th year as the sole vendor of the Ashoka cut of diamond in Europe, working closely with the Goldberg family. We will be launching a new range inspired by New York, called 'Fifth Avenue', and we have American clients coming from all over the USA to New York to celebrate with us.

The other association we are particularly proud of is the Chelsea Flower Show, where we have had a garden for the past four years. Next year, we will be creating a garden inspired by the 25th anniversary of our 'Raindance' collection and we will also be launching a very exciting limited-edition Raindance collection, featuring pink diamonds, at the show. Watch this space!