After 50 years in the jewellery trade, John Blackburn is retiring. He talks about his craft, his career and the night that could have cost him his life.
WITH a gun held to his head, jeweller John Blackburn somehow managed to hold his nerve.
"You're not going to shoot me," he told the two masked men attempting to force their way into his Alice Street workshop.
After viciously hitting John over the head with an metal bar, the thieves escaped with an estimated £250,000 worth of gold, silver, jewellery and precious stones.
"I nearly lost my eyesight because they hit me right on the forehead, so I got lucky in that respect," he said.
"I was bleeding and dazed but I remember trying to take everything in like their heights and what they were wearing.
"The most upsetting aspect of the robbery is that none of the items has ever been found, including customers' engagement rings, wedding rings and other personal items.
"Customers who had lost their items didn't blame me for what happened and kept on coming in and continued to trust me with their items."
Following the November 2010 robbery, a man was convicted of handling stolen good and given a community order. Police are still hunting for the two robbers.
Surprisingly, the horrific experience did not prompt John to think about retirement. He said: "If anything, it made me more determined to show that I was more than capable of carrying on.
"It's like when you fall off a bike, you have to get back straight away. I was in again within a few days."
While the robbery was easily the single most traumatic event in John's 50-year career, as he approaches retirement at the end of this month, there are more shining moments to reflect on.
One piece of work that stands out is the renovation of a stunning piece of medieval silverware.
John said: "It was an Elizabethan communion cup from 1573 that belonged to the Church of St Gregory, in Somerset.
"In the past it had been shoddily repaired with lead solder and glue, a real cowboy job and I've seen plenty of that come through the door over the years.
"It would have been worth at least £100,000 at the time and was a pleasure to work with."
He has also produced a silver commemorative pendant for Dame Ellen MacArthur.
A picture of the celebrated yachtswoman holding the piece of jewellery hangs proudly in the entrance to John's premises.
"It's difficult to single items out for being special because I have made thousands and they are all unique," said John.
Word of John's skills reached far and wide and resulted in a number of unique commissions, including a silver gavel for an auction house in Mayfair for whom wood would not do.
"I remember two customers telling me a story about how they were browsing in a jewellery shop on the Isle of Mull and when the jeweller asked them if they needed any advice, they said they had their own jeweller in Derby.
"The shopkeeper said: 'John Blackburn, I suppose.'"
"I've no idea how my name came to be recognised so far afield."
For the first part of his career, John spent the bulk of his time teaching students how to work with precious metals and make jewellery at the Derby College of Art, in Green Lane.
This period came to an end in the mid-1980s.
Having become disillusioned with the college, John decided to become a full-time goldsmith, silversmith and jeweller, putting his craftsmanship to the test in the commercial crucible.
He said: "After 20-odd years, I had built up a lot of contacts and started contacting the independent jewellers in Derby.
"I began undertaking more commission work and started repairing silverware, gold items and jewellery for both trade and public.
"The premises in Alice Street were perfect because I needed somewhere big enough to hold classes.
"My students at the college encouraged me to continue teaching and it was a real pleasure taking total beginners with no skills to seeing them producing pieces of silverware and jewellery."
Even though he is on the verge of retirement, he will not be completely hanging up his tools.
"I'm not going to stop and will be doing the occasional piece for the sheer pleasure of it and for family and friends," he said. "Using craft skills involves a creative process and something that's within you."
Like so many business owners, John has had little time for recreation over the years, having been working 80-hour weeks. "Your social life takes a knock and I've not really had any spare time but I expect the church will be a bigger part of my life and I'd like to do a bit of voluntary work.
"At the moment, I've got 15 more commissions to complete and a boxful of repairs to finish by the end of the month."
