Howell Jewellers, has been providing outstanding service in fine jewellery in Antigua for the past 55 years.

This company is grounded upon the reputation of the Howell family of jewellers from Somerset, England, dating as far back as the 1800s.

Consequent upon the migration of three Howell brothers to the Caribbean in 1825 their jewellery trade was introduced in St. Maarten, later extending to Nevis and Antigua, and became renown for reliability, service and fine jewellery.

This achievement and success must, to a large measure, be accredited to James Forgarthy Howell, son of one of the immigrants, and a devoted and dedicated jeweller whose determination and ambition was to continue to promote a generation of jewellers. He taught the trade to his son John James Howell who later migrated to Nevis where he married Georgiana Perkins, and taught the art to his whole family. After his death, his son Joseph, although a Dental Surgeon and Optometrist, carried on the jewellery tradition. In 1940, he made a gold necklace as a Wedding gift from the people of St. Maarten to Princess Juliana of Holland. On the occasion of the marriage of Queen Elizabeth II to Prince Phillip, the Government of Antigua commissioned Howell Jewellers and Mr. Dennis Fane to make her a suitable gift from the people of Antigua, a turtle shell and 14k gold jewellery box was made. This has since been displayed at Buckingham Palace.

Joseph was married to Gladys Berridge of St. Kitts and moved to Antigua. Audrey, one of their four daughters, carried on the tradition and in 1941 the business was registered as Howell Jewellers.

Audrey later married Earl Pestaina, a former Collector of Customs, who took over the management of the business in 1972. He injected his expertise, and developed the business considerably. Their son Anthony, at the age of 16 years, joined the business having developed a natural aptitude for the trade, and became very dedicated to the art. He is now married to Hyacinth Bacchus of St. Vincent; her expertise in the field of Marketing and Design is a valuable contribution.

In 1992, Anthony became Managing Director, and upgraded the workshop to fulfill his dreams. He confidently initiated Visage Caribbean Design Jewellery, an art decor jewellery manufacturing company, producing every category from diamond wedding bands to company logo and award pins.

Many former employees of Howell Jewellers, having been motivated with confidence and expertise, have extended the trade through their own businesses in neighboring islands - Liburd Jewellers, Montserrat; Percy's Jewellery, Nevis; Llewellyn Richards Jewellery, St. Thomas; and Mike's Jewellery, Antigua.

Although very proud of it's tradition, Howell Jewellers takes greater pride in its fine reputation and satisfied customers to whom sincere thanks are extended for their support and patronage over the years.