Fifth-generation Adelaide jeweller sparkles at national awards
A city business has taken out top awards after creating jewellery for South Australians for more than 100 years, today sharing what stones are most popular.
An Adelaide jeweller operating for more than one hundred years has taken out two significant industry awards.
This year’s Australian Small Business Champion Awards saw thirteen finalists in the jeweller category from across the nation, with Adelaide firm Bell & Brunt taking out the Australian Small Business Champion: Jeweller award.
The fifth-generation jeweller based in James Place in the city also took out the Greater Adelaide Local Business Award: Outstanding Jeweller in October 2025.
Founded in 1919 by Edgar Bell in his Croydon home, the business moved to its current location on James Place in 1942. William Brunt and Edgar Bell Jr joined the company the year before the move, and members of the Brunt family continue to run the business to this day.
Director and CEO Cheri Brunt said family values were reflected in the way the business deals with its clients.
“Being that family business, people come in and trust us with their stories and their most meaningful moments. They sort of come in and become part of our family, which is beautiful as well,” she said.
Chief Operations Officer Fiona Childs said both nominations had been a surprise but were a good reflection of Bell & Brunt’s standing in the community.
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“When we won the Greater Adelaide Local Business Award, that was the inaugural award for outstanding jewellery store. Giving the speech that night, I was speaking about what a joy it is for us in business to do what we do and to be celebrated by our customers and by the community who’ve loved us for over one hundred years.
“We felt that the award was actually very well deserved because we’re an institution in South Australia.”
Brunt says the company is an institution in SA not just because of its products, but also because of the way it gives back to the community.
“We really like to support the South Australian community that has supported us for so long, and to give back where we can. We are annual gold sponsors of the Childhood Cancer Association Gold Ribbon Gala Ball, and we donate generously to that cause. We’ve been a longtime supporter of the Cystic Fibrosis charities.
“We just like to get involved wherever we can, whenever we can, in our local community.”
Brunt says the business was founded during a financially challenging time.
“The families were not, you know, wealthy families, but doing what we could do to survive initially,” she said.
“My dad Keith had originally wanted to make rings. He was born in 1932, and I think their family certainly experienced war.
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“I know that had a massive impact on his life, the business, and what they wanted to build.”
Brunt says that clients are also treated as part of the family, with the business constantly looking for ways to make their experiences better.
“We like to guide our clients like they’re our friends and family. Creating pieces with meaning, you know, not just appearance,” she said.
“We’re just looking at what other ways can we give to our clients to make their experience a little more personal. When they’re coming in, we can create some more personal touches to not only go with that unforgettable jewellery, but to try and give them some unforgettable moments while they’re in with us as well.”
Bell & Brunt has helped more than 500,000 clients over the years, working with a variety of materials and gemstones.
“Predominantly, we’re a diamond ring maker,” Brunt said, adding that the business specialised in creating custom designs especially for engagement and wedding rings.
“That goes hand in hand with life occasion rings. We’re meeting customers when they’re maybe 16 or 18, and they’re coming in with a family member to receive a significant piece of jewellery, young, and then coming for their engagement ring. That usually then follows with a wedding ring, eternity rings, anniversary rings, all the way through.”
White, yellow, and rose gold are among the materials they commonly use, as well as silver and platinum. Additionally, they often add stones such as emeralds, sapphires, and turquoises.
The firm has seen a particular surge in demand for Australian sapphires over the last year, as well as for diamond accents and mixed metal designs.
Bell & Brunt describes the custom pieces from its artisans as “a premium product that’s not for everyone”, saying that the average engagement ring price in Australia is between $6,000 and $10,000, with some in SA costing as much as $30,000.
Diamonds are always very popular, and there were many who simply wanted to update or upgrade a family heirloom.
“We often see customers who come back with their mother’s or their grandmother’s Bell & Brunt piece, which we then remodel for them. We remake them and redesign them. We use the original stone, and sometimes the original metal as well, to reimagine it for them to make it something that they truly love but keeping the beautiful sentiments of the original piece,” Childs said.
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