Boodles: sixth generation of British family jewellery

A unique path to leading the family jewellery business

James Amos took an unusual route to the helm of his family’s luxury jewellery company, Boodles. As a child, he was very close to his grandfather Anthony Wainwright, who had grown what was then Boodle & Dunthorne from a Liverpool high-street jeweller into a nationally recognised British name. But his grandfather died in 1992, when Amos was a teenager, and his mother sold her shares in the company. Amos went to university, then took up a role at an investment bank in the City of London. “I was doing my own thing and quite enjoying it,” he says. “There was no certainty I would join the family company. I had no shares.”

He remained in touch with his uncles, Michael and Nicholas Wainwright, who were continuing to grow the business, and in time they asked whether he might consider joining them. Included in the deal was an offer of shares in the company. After taking advice from his stepfather, in what he calls “the most important conversation of my life”, he agreed. Amos would in fact follow in the footsteps of his grandfather.

Boodles, of which Amos is now joint managing director – along with his cousin Jody, Nicholas’s son – is now a thriving and ebullient jewellery brand. It is especially beloved by British and Irish families, who make up the vast majority of its clients. Awarded British Luxury Brand of the Year by Walpole in 2023, the company’s turnover is up 68 per cent in the past six years, and grew by more than 18 per cent in the 12 months to February 2025, from £104.9 million to £124.4 million.

When he joined the company in 2004, Amos expected to be appointed to “run a new marketing department”, as marketing had been the focus of his business studies.

Instead, he was handed the keys to the Boodles store in Mayfair, London, and told he would work on the shop floor. He was to spend seven years in the stores, in London and Dublin. In the meantime, he was still involved in elements such as marketing, and was a driving force behind the change of the company’s name to just “Boodles”. Meanwhile, his cousin Jody was on a similar path, and in 2024 the two were appointed joint managing directors, with Michael and Nicholas stepping back to advisory roles.

Balancing growth with family succession

How does being a joint Managing Director work within a family business? Amos notes that his uncles had similar roles for a period. “Most people look horrified when we say we’re joint Managing Directors. You can see them thinking, ‘Why on earth have you decided to do that? Surely it’s not going to work.’”

Amos says he and his cousin complement each other. He has always focused more on brand, and Jody on his passion – sourcing stones, including the pink diamonds that have become a hallmark of the company. “We are moving to a position where Jody and I have even more clearly demarcated roles managing the business, he’s going to focus on the commercial side and I’m going to focus on people, culture and brand,” says Amos.

They have two younger cousins in executive roles: Honour Wainwright, who oversees marketing, and her twin brother, Geordie, who is involved in operations.“

The good thing going forward is that [while they are 18 years younger], we are cousins, we’re all in it together. We’ve got a WhatsApp group called ‘Cousins’; there are four of us in it.”

“They add a hell of a lot more value to the business than I did at their age,” says Amos. Honour is running the company’s influential and important marketing division – which Amos previously ran - and is also the first woman in an executive role at Boodles. She comments: “I am hugely excited to be the first female family member to join Boodles – and with that comes an enormous sense of responsibility.”

Inside Boodles’ strategy for the next generation

Amos and his cousins are the sixth generation to run the business, and points out “there is a seventh generation member who is making all the right preparations – Jody’s son Simeon, who is 24. He is even more passionate about diamonds than his father!” 

Amos says the family is in the middle of an ongoing consultation about demarcating roles moving forward, and says he knows there will be challenges. There are six children in total who are members of the seventh generation who may want to work for the family company. “They can’t possibly all do so,” he says. He adds that in family companies more broadly, it is also unfair if an eldest child is welcomed in, while a younger sibling – who may be just as talented – finds the door closed by the time they come of age. “I don’t know the answer to that question, but we have to get it right.”

2026 is a big year for Boodles with the unveiling of a new London flagship store – the Boodles Townhouse – along with growing links to the art world in the UK, plans for more shows overseas and further initiatives around coloured diamonds. Amos says the process of creating a global brand to rival the great names of jewellery is ongoing. “In 50 or 100 years, I want Boodles to be considered a great jeweller.”