Founded 1794 in Brighton as E.H. Lewis, jewellers to Princess Charlotte. Acquired in February 1947 by Richard Leonard 'Dickie' Austen, an RAF fighter-navigator and qualified Gemmologist. The shop moved to Chichester in 1964 and to its present home on East Street in 2015. Two retail floors, a watch showroom on the first floor, and a working bench above.
A walk in from the East Street pavement, ground-floor cabinets first, watch showroom up the staircase to the first floor. Ask at the counter and we will bring the piece out.
Wedding bands, engagement rings, diamonds and coloured stones, pearls and silver. We carry FOPE, Roberto Coin, Georg Jensen and Brown & Newirth alongside our own bench-made pieces. The ground-floor cabinets are arranged the way the showroom on East Street has always been arranged: by occasion first, by maker second.
A dedicated first-floor showroom for the watch lines we are appointed to carry: TUDOR, Grand Seiko, Tissot and Montblanc. Pre-owned and certified pieces in the same cabinets. Wolf 1834 winders and accessories on the shelf above. Bring the watch you already own for a strap fitting or a service quote.
A working bench above the East Street showroom. We do simple wedding-band resizing, cleaning, polishing and re-rhodium plating on the premises while you wait. Claw re-tipping, chain soldering, complex stone-setting and pearl re-stringing go to our off-site workshop, with a written estimate at the counter before the piece leaves the building.
Independent insurance and probate valuations carried out by Shirley Mitchell FGA DGA, a Fellow of the Gemmological Association, a Diamond member of the same, and a David Wilkins Award winner from The Jewellery Valuers Association. Two to three weeks for the written schedule. Probate figures are properly distinguished from replacement values, so you do not under-insure.
Princess Charlotte of Wales is the only legitimate child of the Prince Regent, the heir presumptive to the throne, and six months old. The French Revolutionary Wars are in their second year. The shop trades quietly through the Regency, the long nineteenth century, the wars, and the post-war contraction of the family jeweller.
In February 1947, Richard Leonard 'Dickie' Austen, an RAF fighter-navigator and qualified Gemmologist, takes the keys. Companies House records the incorporation on 19 June 1947, four months later. The next year, Alan Franks joins as Store Manager. He stays for over fifty years.
In August 1964, Dickie moves the shop inland from Brighton to 75 North Street, Chichester. The initials go above the door for the first time. In 2015, a short move down the road takes the business to its current premises at 2-3 East Street, fifty paces from the Market Cross.
“One of the oldest established businesses in historic Chichester.” Two hundred and thirty-one years, still independent, still on the same four streets.
The full Black Bay range, Pelagos, Ranger, plus pre-owned and certified pre-owned where we have them. The first-floor showroom carries a working selection across calibres and bracelet finishes; ask at the counter for what is in the back.
The Heritage and Sport collections, plus the Snowflake and Spring Drive references when we can secure them. Authorised stockist for the South Coast; the calibre cards and warranty papers come from Tokyo, not from a grey-market box.
Tissot PRX, Le Locle and Heritage references at the entry to the showroom. Montblanc Meisterstuck on the writing-instrument side, with watches and small leather in the same cabinet. Wolf 1834 winders and accessories on the shelf above.
Up to two years interest-free credit (0% APR representative) is available on qualifying purchases through our V12 Finance partnership. Exclusions apply; ask at the counter.
We are fortunate to have a working bench above the East Street showroom. Simple wedding-band resizing, cleaning, polishing and re-rhodium plating of white-gold rings are carried out on the premises while you wait or by the end of the day.
More complex work goes to our off-site workshop, where the bench has the tooling for claw re-tipping on gem-set rings, chain soldering, complex stone setting and pearl re-stringing. The piece never leaves the building without a written estimate at the counter, and you are told up front whether the cost is worth doing against the value of the piece.
Independent insurance and probate valuations are carried out in the East Street showroom by Shirley Mitchell FGA DGA, a Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, a Diamond member of the same, and a recipient of the David Wilkins Award from The Jewellery Valuers Association.
The piece is inspected, cleaned, weighed, measured and photographed. The written schedule follows in two to three weeks depending on the complexity and any further investigative work. Insurance valuations are calculated on replacement value (what a broadly similar article will cost to put back in the unfortunate event of loss, theft or damage). Probate valuations are calculated on current market value at the date of death, and represent much lower figures than for insurance. The two are explicitly distinguished, so you do not under-insure.
Bring the piece in two to five days before your appointment with the relevant documentation. Collection at the counter when the schedule is complete, or by arrangement.
A short form for an appointment in the East Street showroom. We will come back to you by email within one working day. For an indicative quote on a workshop repair, drop the piece in at the counter Monday to Saturday and we will email the estimate.
R.L. Austen Ltd
2-3 East Street
Chichester, West Sussex
PO19 1HE
Phone · 01243 782135
Email · contact@austenjewellers.co.uk
Nearby · The Market Cross (Bishop Story, 1477-1503), the Cathedral two streets west, Chichester rail station a ten-minute walk south.
Call ahead for valuations, watch private views and workshop drop-offs on 01243 782135. We will confirm same-day or book a slot in the diary.
Richard Leonard. Richard Leonard ‘Dickie’ Austen, an RAF fighter-navigator and qualified Gemmologist, acquired the business in February 1947 and moved it to Chichester in 1964. The initials have been above the East Street door ever since.
Yes. Insurance and probate valuations are carried out by Shirley Mitchell FGA DGA, a David Wilkins Award winner and a member of The Jewellery Valuers Association. The written schedule follows in two to three weeks, depending on the complexity and any further investigative work. Probate valuations are based on current market value at the date of death and are explicitly distinguished from insurance replacement values, so you do not under-insure.
Simple wedding-band resizing, cleaning, polishing and re-rhodium plating are done on the bench above the showroom. Claw re-tipping on gem-set rings, chain soldering, stone-setting and pearl re-stringing go to our off-site workshop. You will get a written estimate at the counter before the piece leaves the building.
On the watch side: TUDOR, Grand Seiko, Tissot and Montblanc, plus Wolf 1834 winders and accessories. On the jewellery side: FOPE, Roberto Coin, Georg Jensen and Brown & Newirth, alongside our own bench-made pieces. Up to two years interest-free credit is available on qualifying purchases (0% APR representative; exclusions apply).
No. Independent on the door since 1794. As of November 2025, R.L. Austen sits within the same family of independent jewellers as Weir & Sons of Dublin, but it trades on its own terms in Chichester under the Austen name.