“True gentleman” jeweller passes away

Thursday 07 May 2020

A “true gentleman”, who wound the island’s clocks as a young man before charming thousands of customers at the helm of one of Jersey’s most iconic jewellers, has passed away.

Colin Letto, who ran H Letto & Son with his wife, Christine, died on 3 April following a short illness.

He had been working at the historic store for more than 60 years, having joined in his late teens before taking it on from his father. 

News of the popular retailer’s passing was shared in a post on the shop’s Facebook page, expressing thanks to those who had shared messages of condolence, cards and flowers, as well as donations to Robin Ward in his memory.

Scores of islanders piled in with tributes to Mr Letto, describing him as a “true gent and all round lovely man”, a “master of his business” and someone who was “always friendly to everyone who went into the shop”.

Gary Truscott remembered Mr Letto as a “charming man”, commenting on Facebook: “He served the shop in true spirit, and it was well liked and loved by thousands. He served the island well. God bless him. RIP Colin.”

Giuseppe Mauro added: “I bought my first watch from Collin just after a week I arrived in Jersey the 22 of March 1972… I can say the service and welcome is something to be proud. It’s a part of history gone.”

Indeed, the history of Letto’s – as the family store is fondly known by most islanders – dates back more than 100 years.

In a previous interview with Express, Mr Letto shared the history of his family business.

Pictured: Colin presenting a Lettos competition winner with a bone china tea set in 2018.

He explained: “My grandfather started the business on December 17 1913 in a small shop –No 4 York street, where the hairdressers is now.

“He had learnt his trade as a watchmaker and a jeweller and he decided to set up on his own, which in 1913 was probably quite a brave thing to do. He had alarm clocks and all sorts of things. He used to work in the window, and people could see him repairing things.”

Around 1930, he then moved to the corner shop – the current premises – with the family living above the store, and Mr Letto’s father working as a watchmaker and helping “gradually build it up”.

The store enjoyed success at its new location, with Mr Letto’s London-born mother working across the road as a hairdresser.

Pictured: Mr Letto's grandfather at the original store aged around 25 in 1915.

Then war threatened.

Mr Letto’s parents moved to England, where they married, and his father used his watchmaking expertise to become an instrument repairer in the RAF.

Around that time, Mr Letto was born.

“At the end of the war, when the islands were liberated, they both came back and he came back into the shop and I was about three years old,” Mr Letto said.

“My father had been in the shop, my grandfather retired in 1960-odd. I came into the shop, left college in ‘58 and started in ’59, and I’ve been here ever since.

During his school holidays, Colin remembered being “flat-out” working to maintain clocks, ascending the Town Church tower each week to set it right.

“This is what you did in those days. There were no sort of gap years or anything, so I left school at the end of the Christmas term - December 20 or something -  and started on 2 or 3 January.”

CLICK TO READ: 'Jewels in the town' Colin and Christine Letto spoke about their hopes for the future of the business in Connect Magazine.

Around five decades ago, Mr Letto met his soon-to-be wife Christine, who became his trusted partner in running the shop following a career at the Chamber of Commerce, which was then based at the Royal Square.

When speaking to Express, the pair fondly recalled the heady days of tourism and the custom it brought – “I remember at Kensington Place, it was hotels from one end to the other, and Gloucester Street too. In Battle of Flowers week, there wasn’t a spare bed! People would come over, and the tourism office would phone around the hotels.”

Mr Letto noted that things had been “quieter” over the past decade, but that the industry had generally held strong, as “if you’re buying jewellery, you want to try it on.”

The longevity of his store, however, was put down to building up special relationships with brands such as aviation-themed watchmaker Bremont, who the Lettos were in touch with from an early stage, the keenness to offer a “personal service” and ensure that customers are offered experiences they will “always remember”.

“It’s a special day. For example, the engagement ring is the start of the next part of your life.”

Reflecting on his lengthy career, Mr Letto said it had afforded himself and Christine many “hard to believe” memories – including trips to Switzerland, Ascot and London Fashion Week thanks to their close relationships with the brands they stocked.

One of his fondest, however, was a special trip on the Orient Express from London Victoria to Torquay alongside Poirot himself.

“When we got to Torquay, Miss Marple was on the platform and waiting and she was in her little outfit. We arrived, the train stopped and he got out and they said, ‘We meet at last’ because they never met in any of the books,” the father-of-two and grandfather laughed, adding: “We’ve been very very lucky."