Summary

Certificate acknowledging the admission of G.K. Jewellery into the Australian Jewellers Association, Victoria Branch, dated March 1981. This certificate is part of the documentation relating to George Kyriakides, and the successive silver smithing and jewellery businesses in which he was involved.

George Kyriakides was born in 1921 in Larnaca, on the southern coast of Cyprus. In his early working years he was apprenticed to his father Petrou Kyriacou as a silversmith and in 1948 George migrated to Melbourne, Australia. In 1949 he married Australian-born Silvia Sarandis, the child of Greek migrants and they had two children. Using his skills as a silversmith, he worked for a local silverware company and then proceeded to start his own silversmithing business under the name Saracen Plate Company, situated at 152 Lygon St, Carlton. A manufacturing wholesale business, they sold mainly to large clients such as Myers and Prouds Jewellery. In 1974 George sold the wholesale silversmithing part of the business due to the difficulty in obtaining pure metals, and continued to work as a Jeweller under the name GK Jewellery until his retirement and beyond. In later years George was known for his philanthropic generosity and in 2006 he died and is survived by his two children.

Physical Description

Printed on cream card with a sky blue border and sky blue and gold AJA logo. Certificate is in two parts. Part one is the members name and dates, and Part 2 is a listing of the code of ethics.

Significance

Statement of Historical Significance:
This collection offers a multi-faceted snapshot of a migrant small business in Lygon Street Carlton through tools of trade, product catalogue and a sample of the silverware produced for retail. It thus encapsulates a small business activity from production through to sale and distribution. It includes a beautiful filigree tray as well as more mainstream domestic silverware items. The collection enables the documentation of the passing on of trade traditions and skills from one generation to the next and the bringing of those skills to Australia, as well as capturing a particular craft, filigree work, which is a disappearing artform.

More Information

  • Collecting Areas

    Working Life & Trades, Migration & Cultural Diversity

  • Previous Owner

    Mr George Kyriakides, Carlton, Victoria, Australia, 1981

  • Manufacturer

    Saracen Plate Company, Carlton, Victoria, Australia

  • Manufacturer

    GK Jewellery, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

  • Inscriptions

    Part One is inscribed with: "AJA/ This is to certify that/ G. K. Jewellery/ has been Admitted as a Member/ of the/ Australian Jewellers'/ Association/ Victoria/ Branch/ SIGNATURE/ PRESIDENT/ SIGNATURE/ SECRETARY/ March, 1981/ DATE" Part Two is inscribed with: "Australian Jewellers'/ Association/ AJA/ The Australiain Jewellers' Association has approved of this/ Code of Ethics as a means of encouraging the highest standards of business conduct./ It is issued to all memebers of the Association, so that together they may/ strive for the improvement of the profession and the development of these/ personal and business attributes which are the basics of all good trading / relations./ CODE OF ETHICS/ A member of this Association shall consider his vocation a worthy one affording an opportunity to serve the community./ It is the responsibility of every member to provide service to his/ customers to the limit of his ability and seek to establish/ confidence between his clients and himself./ A member of the Association will observe the highest standard of/ honesty and integrity in all his business relations and at all times act/ so as to enhance the respect due to an honourable occupation,/ carefully avoiding the use of false titles , confusing technical terms or/ misleading claims./ He should show a spirit of friendly co-operation with his fellow/ members, assist them whenever possible if in trouble and at all times/ afford to them the same treatment that he would wish to receive from/ them.

  • Classification

    Migration, Settlement - employment, Small businesses

  • Category

    History & Technology

  • Discipline

    History

  • Type of item

    Document

  • Overall Dimensions

    200 (Width), 304 (Height)

  • Keywords

    Jewellers, Small Businesses, Cypriot Communities, Cypriot Immigration, Working Life, Trades, Jewellery, Silverware, Family Businesses