A & G. Cairncross Jewellers, ca. 1900

This photograph shows the shop front of family jewellers A. & G. Cairncross at 6 St. John Street in Perth. Customers passing the premises of this firm in the centre of Perth could view a range of luxury goods through the large window. At the centre of the display, at eye level, were rows of watches, sparkling silver medals, necklaces, pendants, pins and rings. On the shelves above and below these luxuries for wear on the body were standing clocks for displaying on the fireplace, at the centre of the Victorian home. This selection of stock is fairly typical for a late-nineteenth century jewellery firm seeking to appeal to customers seeking gifts for special occasions like weddings. Presenting goods in an ordered way, lined up behind gleaming windows under an elegant sign, sent a message that the producer was knowledgeable, careful and trustworthy.

The firm of A. & G. Cairncross was established in 1869 by brothers Alexander and George, and later developed a reputation for the production of high-quality jewellery in Scottish pearls. The Scottish freshwater mussel, Mya Margaritafera, provided the pearls sourced from the river Tay that winds its way through the town of Perth, and further north in the Highlands and Hebrides. The gems were distinguishable for their bumpy and irregular shapes, and for their distinctive earthy hues; colours ranged from creams through to yellows and browns, silvery light-greys through to dusky pinks and lilacs. These unusual shapes and colours were understood as a sign of wild origins. The Scottish pearl became increasingly valued as the natural product of a living landscape and as an antidote to the mass-produced goods that proliferated during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century. A. & G. Cairncross thrived during the first decade of the twentieth century, and moved to a larger showroom at number 18 St. John Street around 1913, where the firm (though no longer in family hands) still operates.