S Murray opened in 1885 and took its pitch at 17/18 Grainger Arcade in 1901, the same year the market’s original wooden roof was destroyed by fire. We have not moved since. Bespoke design, jewellery repairs, watch trade, pre-loved and gold buying, all done on the bench in the shop by James Banks. Six days a week, every week.
Four counters, one bench. Everything that crosses the counter at 17/18 Grainger Arcade is worked on in the same shop by the same hands. Nothing is sent away.
Bring an idea, a photograph, an inherited piece, or a stone. The design is worked out at the bench with you in the shop, drawn out, costed in writing, and made on site. Drawings stay on file so a future anniversary band or signet matches the original. Engagement rings, wedding bands, dress rings, signets, remodels of inherited pieces.
Ring sizing in 9, 14, 18 and 22 carat gold, platinum and silver from the same bench. Pearl knotting on silk thread to the original spacing. Chain repairs and clasp replacements while the shop is open. Rhodium plating done in-shop on a small platework, so a white-gold finish is refreshed without the piece leaving the arcade.
Counter trade Tuesday to Saturday. Batteries fitted at the counter, usually while you wait. Straps, pins and pressure-tests done on site. Quartz services and mechanical work taken in to the bench, indicative price quoted before any work starts. Vintage watches assessed in person, never by photograph.
A small, selected case of secondhand engagement rings, eternity bands, gold chains and pre-owned pieces, with full provenance where known. Unwanted gold, broken chain, mismatched earrings and scrap weighed at the counter against the day's market and paid the same day in cash or by bank transfer. No appointment.
The Grainger Market opened on 24 October 1835, a neoclassical covered market by the Newcastle architect John Dobson, four top-lit aisles north to south and four arched passages east to west. S Murray arrived in 1901 and took the pitch at 17/18, the same year the original wooden roof burned out. The shop traded right through the rebuild and the new steel-and-glass roof was completed in 1904.
The market was listed Grade I on 14 June 1954. The fascia at 17/18 is one of the original cast-iron-grille shopfronts that survived. The brass-gold S.MURRAY wordmark has been on this fascia in the same place every working day since.
The Marks & Spencer Penny Bazaar at the far end opened in 1895. We came in 1901. Apart from M&S, no shop has been on these stones longer than us, and the bench has never been in another building.
S Murray Jewellers · 17/18 Grainger ArcadeJames Banks worked at independent and national jewellers for almost three decades before joining S Murray in 2016. Sizing, soldering, restringing, pearl knotting and rhodium plating are done at the bench at the back of 17/18. Nothing is sent out to a workshop in another town. The piece is handed in across the same counter it will be handed back across.
The window has read WATCH BATTERIES STRAPS for as long as the shop has been at 17/18. The counter is the same counter. We fit batteries at the counter while you wait, swap a strap and pin, pressure-test the case if the watch is rated, and take in mechanicals to the bench with a written indicative price first.
Tell us what you have or what you have in mind. We will reply with a written indicative price, a suggested visiting time during opening hours, and (for bespoke) a first sketch at the bench. No deposit asked for until you have seen a drawing and a written cost.
The Grainger Arcade entrance is the one off Grainger Street between the Penny Bazaar and the fish-row passage. We are on the right as you come in, look for the dark fascia with the brass S.MURRAY lettering and "WATCH BATTERIES STRAPS" on the left window. From the Nelson Street side, walk the length of the arcade and we are at the far end on the left.
Nearby: Marks & Spencer’s Penny Bazaar (in the market since 1895), the Weigh House, the Nelson Street fish row. Closest Metro: Monument, two minutes on foot. Pay-and-display car parking at Eldon Square and Newgate Street.
In line with Grainger Market.
Anything else, phone the shop on 0191 232 9205 during opening hours, or send a note through the form above.
Yes. Walk in any day except Monday morning between 09:30 and 16:30 and we will fit a battery at the counter. Most quartz watches while you wait. Pressure-tested watches and mechanicals we take in to the bench and turn around in one to three weeks depending on the movement. Indicative pricing before the back comes off.
For a plain wedding band in 9, 14 or 18 carat gold, three to five working days from drop-off. For a diamond engagement ring or a complex setting, seven to ten days. If you bring the ring in by the Friday two weeks before, it will be ready for the wedding. We size on site at 17/18 Grainger Arcade, the ring does not leave the shop.
Both. The case has stock engagement rings to try on for size and feel. If you want something specific (a particular stone, a remake of an inherited ring, a setting we do not stock) we design it at the bench with you in the shop. Drawing and costing in writing first, no commitment, no upsell. Bench drawings stay on file so a future anniversary piece matches.
Yes, every day we are open. Bring in scrap gold, broken chain, mismatched earrings or old rings. We weigh in front of you on a calibrated scale, test the carat at the counter, and quote against the day’s market price. No appointment, no posting your gold to a website. If you accept the quote we pay the same day in cash or by bank transfer.
The Grainger Arcade entrance is the one off Grainger Street between Marks and Spencer’s Penny Bazaar and the fish-row passage. We are units 17/18 on the right as you come in, look for the dark fascia with the brass S.MURRAY lettering and "WATCH BATTERIES STRAPS" on the left window. If you are coming from the Nelson Street entrance, walk the length of the arcade and we are at the far end on the left.