Sound On The History Of Murphy Jewellers, A Family Business.
Murphy Jewellers has been a family business since 1903. Seamus Costello, the present proprietor, is the grandson of the founder Patrick T. Murphy. Murphy Jewellers has, since its foundation, traded in the same premises of 85 High Street, Kilkenny.
Murphy Jewellers has evolved and changed throughout those years and continued the tradition of excellence established by Patrick Murphy in 1903. Patrick Murphy’s daughter Frances and her husband Eamonn Costello continued this thriving jewellery business from 1940 onwards. This business specialised in wedding rings and gifts and providing sets of sports medals and cups to local clubs.
One of the most important changes came when he made a conscious decision to specialise in diamonds. For the past 10-15 years we have been buying our diamonds in Antwerp, we do all the sorting and grading on site and have various workshops which then create our own designs.
The 4th Generation At Murphy Jewellers
Seamus has two sons who have joined him in the family business. Martin attended the Gemological Institute of America (G.I.A.) at their HQ in Carlsbad, California. He obtained his qualification, Graduate Gemmologist, G.G. while studying there. This intensive course of study covers diamonds and over 100 different coloured gemstones. The GIA was the first place to set up a specialised training course in gemmology and remains one of the world’s foremost authorities on gemmology. They have one of the most respected Diamond grading laboratories in the world and their diamond certificates are much sought after when purchasing a fine diamond.Stephen trained for two years with the Craft Council of Ireland successfully completing their Jewellery Design and Skills course. He has also spent extensive time in Dublin running a manufacturing workshop and most recently he spent 18 months in Victoria, Vancouver Island, Canada with leading bench jewellers enhancing the skills he has learnt. Stephen is currently in our own workshop and has now started to design and manufacture his own pieces of jewellery for our valued customers.
Despite all innovations and changes, at the heart of the success of the business is the service. “One of the most important things is having motivated and well trained staff,” says Seamus. It seems to be paying off, not only in increased sales but also in awards. Crest, an organisation in pursuit of retail excellence, voted Murphy’s runner-up in its store of the year awards in 2005 and again in 2006.
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