Guest & Philips: A Family Business

Times change, but standards do not. So say one of ’s best-known and most iconic shops, and who are we to argue?

are as synonymous with Beverley as the Westwood and the . While stores come and go, the local jewellers rightly enjoy a reputation for providing high-quality goods with high-quality service.

The Saturday Market store’s owners Michael Guest and wife Anne this year bring up an incredible 60 years in the business. for some time the responsibility of running the business has been with son Philip and daughter Karen, who are aiming to take the business even further forward and cement Guest and Philips’ reputation for superb jewellery with magnificent service.

Philip told .net that while the business always looks forward, at its centre is the age-old reputation for superb service. A standard definitely worth maintaining.

He said: “The most important aspect of our business is old-fashioned, personal service.

“So many of our customers are friends or associates of someone in the family or our staff, many of whom have been with us for decades and whom our customers know well.”

Guest and Philips are content in their particular niche. They are not your H Samuel, not by a long chalk, and are reassuringly committed to quality.

This can be seen just by a glimpse at their window display. Guest and Philips sell the full range of top-quality watches, from the humble Swatch, through the stunning Omega range to the drool-inducing Cartier collection.

Guest and Philips are about so much more than just watches, though. They offer rings from £50 to £50,000, tableware and collectibles, as well as quality brands such as Links of London, Thomas Sabo and Montblanc. They also buy and sell-on jewellery.

Karen, who specialises in the valuation side of the business, told HU17.net: “The objects we sell are usually given for special occasions or reasons, and so are invested with a great deal of sentiment.

“Many of the valuations and the advice we dispense is  very personal and confidential, especially when it comes to valuations, which are my specialty.”

The business has recently consolidated its place in the market place by purchasing family-owned firm Gilsons of Pocklington, giving Guest and Philips even greater presence locally to sit alongside their other shops in Cottingham and Driffield.

It’s a move which Phil expects to boost business and, at the same time, re-inforce the role of the high street in modern life.

He said: ” I think that more and more people are starting to value their local high street, buying their meat from a proper butcher and fish from a fishmonger.

“The supermarkets and internet have their place but sometimes you need to be sure things are ‘kosher’.

“We do see some disappointed faces as a result, for example, of holiday purchases and fake websites. We are the reassuring, solid and customer-service orientated side of things.”



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