History
Our firm was founded in 1908 by Byard F. Brogan and Walter S.
Rodenbough, on South 7th Street in Philadelphia. The two men
originally worked as engravers to the bustling Philadelphia jewelry
trade, at a time when the demand for personalization was great and
almost every piece of jewelry was hand engraved.
After the First World War, Mr. Brogan bought out his partner and
moved more aggressively into manufacturing. He developed a
method of crafting die-struck two-sided mountings that retained the
high quality of die striking, but at a more reasonable cost. This
advantage enabled the company to expand rapidly into other markets
through the 1920s. Several U.S. Design Patents were issued
for these mountings. With the increased production, the firm
moved to 805 Sansom Street, and steadily grew from a space of one
floor to occupy all four floors of the building.
Also during this time, Mr. Brogan and his chief machinist
designed machinery and tooling to craft seamless diamond guard
rings. The process allowed an individual seat or azure to be
punched for each stone in the mounting and required a separate die
for each stone size as well as each finger size within each stone
size. In 1932 a U.S. Design Patent was issued for the ring,
as well as a separate patent for the process of manufacturing the
ring. The tooling utilized a complicated mathematical formula
for each stone combination, creating an infinite variety of
options. We still use this completely custom, time-tested process
today.
With the onset of the Great Depression, the firm faced a steep
drop-off in demand for jewelry and bankruptcies were widespread
throughout the jewelry industry. To increase business in the
1930s, the company expanded into the importation of cultured pearls
from Japan. Another patent was granted for an oval interchangeable
clasp, designed so that multiple strands could be worn in different
ways. During the Second World War, the firm adapted operations yet
again, manufacturing small radar parts that required platinum
contacts. As well, many of the company's jewelers and polishers
manufactured compasses for ships at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
After the war, demand for jewelry expanded quickly with the rest
of the economy and once again the company expanded manufacturing.
In the fall of 1949, cultured pearl imports were allowed in the
United States for the first time in almost ten years from occupied
Japan. Originally, these pearls were well coated, but quite
irregular in shape. However, during the 1950s, pearl production and
quality improved greatly, and as the volume of pearl sales grew,
the company increasingly had leftover pearls from stringing
necklaces of different lengths. Faced with growing inventory, the
firm developed a program wherein one or more loose pearls could be
purchased on a small gold neck chain, and over time more pearls
could be added until the necklace was completed. This was the
beginning of our popular Princesse Plus program.
In 1956 the firm moved from the cramped four-story building on
Sansom Street to a larger, more modern space occupying two floors
at 801 Walnut Street. Finally, in 1966 the company moved out
of the city to Glenside in suburban Philadelphia.
To this day, Byard F. Brogan, Inc. strives to bring customers
the highest quality jewelry and gemstones, from die-struck
components to VS1 quality diamonds. We have chosen to keep our
standards high and sell a quality product. Our customized
service and attention to detail deliver a much better value than
less expensive jewelry. It is our sincere desire to serve the
customer who appreciates the difference.
