Wright Auction

Black, Starr & Frost holds the distinguished position of being the oldest continuously operating jewelry firm in the United States. Founded in 1810 by Isaac Marquand, Black, Starr & Frost originally opened as Marquand & Co. in New York City. Marquand had established himself as a silversmith and clock maker and sold a variety of goods at his firm, including silverware and jewelry. In 1851, William Black and Henry Ball joined the company and it was renamed Ball, Black & Company. By 1860, they moved to a striking new marble building and among their many clients was none other than America’s First Lady, Mary Todd Lincoln (at the time Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, she owed the firm $64,000—an astounding $11 million today).

In 1874, the company reorganized; Cortlandt W. Starr was promoted to partner along with Aaron Frost, and the firm became Black, Starr & Frost. They moved to prestigious Fifth Avenue in the area now known as the “Diamond District,” and became more focused on jewelry and silver objects both imported and domestic. They exhibited at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia alongside renowned companies such as Tiffany & Co., and for decades they were known as one of the great American jewelers. In 1929, the Frost family lost their fortune in the stock market crash and Gorham became a majority interest holder in the firm, at which point the company was renamed Black, Starr & Frost — Gorham. It reverted back to Black, Starr & Frost again in 1960 when it was acquired by Marcus & Co.

A jeweler to celebrities, privileged American families and royalty, the firm’s rich history is set against the extravagance of the Gilded Age, the turbulence of the Reconstruction Era, the vibrancy of the Jazz Age and more. Known for many firsts, America’s first jeweler was one of the initial companies to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Black, Starr & Frost created the first choker necklace and helped invent safe deposit boxes, plate glass windows (1833) and fireproof buildings (1860). They had so much cachet by the mid-20th century that they were named in the infamous song Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend from the 1953 film Gentleman Prefer Blondes. The company acquired Cartier USA in 1962 and ten years later, Kay Jewelers bought Black, Starr & Frost in turn. As of today, the company is owned by The Molina Group, headed by Alfredo J. Molina who has concentrated on revitalizing the company’s name and reinforcing their reputation for high-quality, design-driven jewelry. He employs a staff of in-house master jewelers with a combined 215 years of experience.