Heritage

Glasgow Family Jewellers Since 1965

Exceptional Diamonds. Exceptional Value. Honest Advice.

Established in Glasgow in 1965, John Macintyre & Son has spent more than 60 years helping generations of customers choose jewellery for life’s most important moments.

Throughout that time, exceptionally high diamond quality has remained at the heart of our business. We specialise in carefully selected mined and lab-grown diamonds, beautiful craftsmanship and exceptional value—supported by honest advice from a team our customers know and trust.

Although the way people discover and buy jewellery has evolved considerably, our commitment to quality, value and personal service has remained constant.

Exceptional Quality Has Always Been Our Starting Point

At John Macintyre & Son, high diamond quality is not simply an optional upgrade—it has always been our baseline.

A diamond can appear attractively priced while compromising on quality, beauty or grading standards. Our approach is to offer carefully selected diamonds that meet the high standards on which our reputation has been built, while keeping our prices exceptionally competitive.

For our mined diamonds, we source diamonds accompanied by grading reports from the Gemological Institute of America—better known as GIA. For most lab-grown centre stones and larger diamonds supplied for 18ct gold or platinum jewellery, we use grading reports from the International Gemological Institute—IGI.

A grading report provides important information, but our role goes further than reading the grades shown on paper. We use our experience to help customers understand how an individual diamond looks, what represents genuine quality and which qualities matter most within their preferred price range.

That combination of quality, value, knowledge and transparency has always set John Macintyre & Son apart from many traditional retail jewellers.

1965 — Where It All Began

Our story began in 1965, when a small pawnbroker’s shop called John Macintyre opened in Braehead Street in the Gorbals area of Glasgow.

From those modest beginnings, the family business built its reputation through personal service, specialist knowledge and a determination to offer customers exceptional quality and value.

1975 — “& Son” Was Born

In 1975, the Macintyre family acquired 14 Mitchell Lane in Glasgow city centre, and John Macintyre & Son began the diamond journey that continues today.

During the following decades, the business became well known throughout Glasgow and the west of Scotland for its extensive selection of engagement rings, wedding rings, diamond jewellery, gold, silver, watches and gifts.

Growing Through the Generations

Throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, customers from the NHS, Police, Fire Service, Glasgow City Council and many other organisations visited us through our popular wholesale membership scheme.

Account Cards from the Wholesale Years

These surviving customer account cards offer a glimpse of our wholesale membership years at 14 Mitchell Lane.

Digitally restored from original items in the John Macintyre & Son archive.

By 1999, demand had grown so much that the business expanded across multiple floors at Mitchell Lane, creating separate departments for diamonds, jewellery and watches.

In 2000, we opened our doors to the wider public, bringing our combination of specialist advice, high quality and competitive pricing to even more customers.

The “King of Diamonds” Campaign

Our early-2000s promotional cards celebrated the name generations of Glasgow customers knew us by.

Digitally restored from original items in the John Macintyre & Son archive.

2005 — Taking Our Business Online

John Macintyre & Son embraced online shopping in 2005, giving customers the opportunity to explore thousands of jewellery designs from home.

The internet would eventually transform the way people researched diamonds and jewellery. Customers could now discover engagement-ring designs from around the world, compare different styles and arrive with a much clearer idea of what they wanted.

Rather than resisting that change, we adapted our service around it.

As the business grew, John Macintyre & Son also appeared on television with our own advertising campaign.

Our original television advert captures an earlier era of the business, when watches, gifts and large jewellery departments were an important part of the John Macintyre & Son experience.

Although our business has since evolved, the advert remains a wonderful piece of our history and a reminder of how familiar the John Macintyre & Son name became to customers across Glasgow and beyond.

2016 — The Honest Diamond Grading Campaign

In 2016, we introduced our Honest Diamond Grading campaign.

We had become increasingly concerned that diamonds carrying the same stated colour and clarity grades could differ significantly depending on the laboratory responsible for the grading report.

We therefore made the decision to source mined diamonds accompanied by GIA grading reports, giving our customers a recognised and consistent basis on which to understand and compare diamond quality.

Honest advice, clear explanations and accurately represented diamond quality remain central to every consultation today.

2017 — A New Online Chapter

In late 2017, our new website went live, making it easier for customers to explore our collections and research their options before visiting us.

A Return to Our Core Business

Over the past decade, we have made the deliberate decision to step away from watches and giftware and return our attention to the areas at the heart of John Macintyre & Son:

• Diamond engagement rings
• Wedding rings
• Eternity rings
• Diamond jewellery
• Bespoke and individually made jewellery

This renewed focus has allowed us to concentrate our experience, buying knowledge and customer service on the jewellery for which we have always been best known.

A More Personal Way to Buy Jewellery

Traditionally, jewellers carried large collections of completed rings and jewellery in stock. Today, we work differently.

Instead of limiting customers to a ready-made piece selected by a supplier, we can source the diamond and choose the mount separately.

This allows us to help each customer get the most from their preferred price range, reduce some of the additional costs associated with buying fully assembled supplier pieces and provide a much wider choice of designs.

Customers can select:

• A mined or lab-grown diamond
• Diamond shape, carat weight and quality
• Platinum or their preferred colour of gold
• Ring design and setting style
• Wedding-ring width, profile and finish
• Plain, textured or diamond-set details
• Options appropriate to their preferred price range

We keep carefully chosen samples in our Glasgow showroom, allowing customers to compare styles, proportions and finishes before their jewellery is made.

If you have discovered a design online, we can discuss the details you love and explore how we might create something with a similar character, tailored to your preferences and budget.

This approach gives our customers greater choice, excellent value and a more personal finished piece than simply selecting from a cabinet of completed jewellery.

Need It Sooner?

Planning a proposal or need your ring by a particular date? Many of our engagement rings are made to order and may require up to six weeks from final approval.

Tell us your preferred diamond, ring style, budget and required date. Our team will personally explore the available options, whether you visit our Glasgow showroom or choose remotely by phone, email or WhatsApp.

Exceptional Value All Year Round

We do not rely on large seasonal sales because our jewellery is priced competitively from the outset.

By sourcing our diamonds carefully, pairing them with individually chosen mounts and working with tighter margins than many traditional retail jewellers, we can offer high-quality diamonds and beautifully made jewellery at exceptional prices throughout the year.

We occasionally offer a small promotion, but discounts above 10% are very rare. Our customers do not have to wait for a large sale or wonder whether a significantly better price will appear a few weeks later.

Our aim is to provide genuine quality and excellent value every day.

From the Engagement Ring to the Wedding Day

When you purchase an engagement ring from John Macintyre & Son, you will also receive 10% off both wedding bands when the time comes to choose them.

This allows couples to select two wedding rings that suit their individual styles—including plain, textured, shaped or diamond-set designs—while making a meaningful saving on their overall wedding-ring purchase.

It is another way we continue looking after our customers beyond the engagement ring and throughout their jewellery journey.

Wedding Rings Have Changed Too

A wedding ring no longer has to mean a plain band.
Our customers now choose from different widths, profiles, precious metals, textures and diamond-set styles. We can also help create wedding rings designed to sit comfortably alongside an engagement ring—including shaped, fitted and eternity-ring-inspired designs.

Many customers now choose a more decorative or diamond-set style as their wedding ring, while others prefer a completely bespoke design.

Whether your preference is beautifully simple or entirely individual, our aim is to create a ring that feels right for the person who will wear it.

2024 — Introducing Lab-Grown Diamonds

In 2024, we expanded our diamond offering to include lab-grown diamonds alongside our established selection of GIA-graded mined diamonds.

This gave our customers another choice when considering diamond size, quality, origin and budget.

Most of the lab-grown centre stones and larger diamonds we supply for 18ct gold or platinum jewellery are independently graded by IGI.

Smaller diamonds, including the individual stones used in many eternity rings and multi-stone designs, do not usually each carry a separate laboratory grading report. Our team will always explain the grading information that applies to a particular diamond or piece of jewellery.

We also explain the differences between mined and lab-grown diamonds openly, helping every customer make an informed choice. For a fuller comparison, read our Mined and Lab-Grown Diamonds guide. Whichever you choose, our focus remains on diamond quality, craftsmanship, honest advice and excellent value.

Experience You Can Trust

Our heritage is not only found in old photographs or important dates. It lives in the people who continue to represent John Macintyre & Son every day.

Every member of our current team has worked with John Macintyre & Son for 20 years or more. That continuity is increasingly unusual in retail and gives our customers access to a remarkable depth of knowledge and experience.

Our team understands diamonds, jewellery design, precious metals, wedding rings and the practical details that help make a piece comfortable and suitable for a lifetime of wear.

Just as importantly, they understand our customers.

Many people return years after their first purchase and are welcomed by the same familiar faces. We have helped customers choose engagement rings, wedding rings, anniversary gifts and, in time, jewellery for the next generation of their family.

That long-standing relationship between our team and our customers is one of the most important parts of the John Macintyre & Son story.

A Sweet John Macintyre Tradition

Not every part of our heritage is about diamonds.

For more than 40 years, customers purchasing something from John Macintyre & Son have been offered a couple of Quality Street chocolates to enjoy.

It is a small tradition, but one that has created surprisingly lasting memories. Even today, customers tell us how they remember visiting the shop as children with their parents—and how excited they were to receive a sweet.

Many of those children have since returned as adults to choose their own engagement rings, wedding rings and special pieces of jewellery.

We still keep the tradition going, although we now like to mix things up a little. Depending on the day, customers might be offered Quality Street, Cadbury Roses or Celebrations.

Jewellery may be at the heart of what we do, but sometimes it is the smallest details—and the sweetest memories—that stay with people.

John Macintyre & Son Today

Today, John Macintyre & Son is an appointment-based family jeweller specialising in mined and lab-grown diamond engagement rings, wedding rings, eternity rings, diamond jewellery and bespoke pieces.

Our showroom may work differently from the large retail operation of earlier decades, but the values built over more than 60 years remain unchanged.

We listen. We explain. We source carefully. We maintain exceptionally high standards. And we work with every customer to create the best possible piece for their preferences, timescale and budget.

Our heritage is not simply where we came from. It is the experience, knowledge and values we bring to every piece of jewellery we help create. To see how those values shape the way we work today, visit our About John Macintyre & Son page.