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Andrew Grima was born in Rome in 1921. He was educated in London and studied mechanical engineering at Nottingham University. In 1939 his studies were interrupted bythe war. Back in England, he would have certainly continued his career, had he not married the daughter of a Viennese jeweller. In 1951, at the death of his father-in law, he inherited the business and changed its whole focus, keeping high standards of work-manship but producing a different kind of jewellery. In the following years, Grima fought against the odds in a market that was asking for the conventional and eventually his business began to thrive. The break through came in 1961, when his company won more prizes than any other in the De Beer Diamond International Awards. In 1965 Andrew Grima Ltd was founded, and one year later the striking slate-fronted shop in Jermyn Street was opened by Lois Snowdon. In 1966 Grima won the Duke of Edinburgh Prize for elegant design, then the Queen's award to Industry. In the same year he was granted the Royal Warrant which he retained until the closure of the Jermyn Street premises in 1986. Further outlets were opened in New York and Sidney in 1970, Zurich in 1971 and Tokyo in 1973. Grirna moved to Lugano, Switzerland in 1987 and his shop is was based in Gstaad from where he operated in conjunction with his wife Jojo and daughter Francesca.
Grima may be regarded as one of the most innovative designers of his time and the initiator of the movement of modern jewellery design in England.
The secret of the success of Andrew Grima's design is to be found in the fact that he allowed himself to be guided by nature's own forms and hues - those of shells, for example, or of gemstones, and their evocations of secret worlds. In defiance to conventional styles of jewellery, Grima uses crystals in their natural forms, crystallised agates, opals, unusual shells and pearls characteristically set in richly textured gold with the emphasis on the design rather than on the intrinsic value of the materials. Grirna did not confine his exuberant creative skill to jewellery but extended it to watches and objets d'art. In 1970 he was commissioned by Omega to design a prestigious watch collection, named 'About Time', which was exhibited throughout the world with great success. For decades Grima pieces have attracted those who-like Edith Sitwell, Jacqueline Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, and the English Royals just to name
a few-want a unique look.