30/09/2025
From Edinburgh to the V&A:
The enduring value of an heirloom.
It’s been a week of connecting with clients and fellow industry leaders in London, but also a week where the enduring theme of legacy has been brought beautifully to life.
A few months ago I wrote about an evening at Hampden Bank in Edinburgh, where the brilliant Clare Blatherwick spoke on the history and craftsmanship of jewels.
It led to an insight that still resonates: “Like those exquisite diamonds, emeralds, and pearls, homes can hold emotion, memory, and meaning. They become part of a family’s story—treasured by some, and collected with purpose by others. ”
This trip, I was invited to the V&A's incredible Cartier exhibition. There, I came face-to-face with the magnificent carved emerald brooch once owned by Marjorie Merriweather Post—a piece I’d previously only seen in a presentation slide.
Seeing it in real life was a powerful reminder: a jewel is more than a stone; it is a portable piece of history, an exquisite testament to a life lived, a journey undertaken, and a fortune established.
Marjorie Merriweather Post, the cereal heiress, was a serious collector and philanthropist. She not only accumulated this breathtaking jewellery but also curated spectacular estates, including Hillwood (now a museum) and the famous (or infamous) Mar-a-Lago, ensuring her collections and properties would be passed on as cultural treasures for future generations.
It brings me back to the line from Carol Woolton's book, ‘If Jewels Could Talk’:
"Within these small structures has always been found the loves, sorrows, and philosophy of human existence."
Standing in the V&A, I was utterly convinced: the same can be said for the remarkable homes we source and secure for our clients.
The value of super-prime property in Edinburgh and across Scotland is not just in the square footage or the investment potential, but in its capacity to serve as the physical container for a family’s own history—the next great, tangible heirloom to be cherished and passed on.
We don't just find houses; we secure legacies.
