Born in 1948 and educated at Shrewsbury School, Nicholas Wainwright joined the family jewellery company Boodle & Dunthorne in 1967. He was apprenticed in Geneva and London in watch making, goldsmithing (and gemmology) before studying retail management in New York. In 1988 he became Managing Director and the fifth generation of Wainwrights to run the company from its flagship store in Liverpool and is now Chairman of the company. Nicholas is responsible for the company’s creative direction and in the last 15 years the family business has transformed itself from provincial county jeweller to sparkling market leader with 9 stores. Along the way, Boodles have won many awards for their stunning jewellery and Nicholas received a lifetime achievement award from the jewellery industry in 2005. In 2014 Boodles was the subject of a Channel 4 documentary “Inside Boodles: The Million Pound Necklace”.
Regarded as one of Britain’s leading gem specialists he is a Liveryman and Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths’ in London, a Fellow of the Gemmological Association and a past Chairman of the Merseyside National Association of Goldsmiths.
Nicholas is the Honorary Consul of Thailand at Liverpool and has been awarded the Order of Knight Commander of the Blue Elephant and Companion of the Order of the White Elephant. He is a past President of the Liverpool Consular Corps.
He served as a magistrate for 10 years.
His family support a Christian orphanage in Tamil Nadu southern India and Nicholas has been International President of “Shining Faces in India” for the past 20 years. It has been a sanctuary to more than 800 children at any one time and Nicholas and his family have raised more than £2,500,000 over the years and he is a tireless fund-raiser for them.
Closer to home he has been a Trustee of the Imagine Appeal and was one of the board members responsible for raising money for the new Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. He is a member of the Voluntary Aid Club and a past Secretary of the Brunswick Boys’ Club in Bootle. Boodles have always been a very philanthropic family owned business and their Charitable Trust has supported so many other good causes on Merseyside.
An Honorary Fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University was conferred on him in 2009.
He was awarded an MBE in November 2018 for services to UK Jewellery Exports and charitable fundraising.
In April 2019 he became a Deputy Lieutenant of Merseyside.
Nicholas is a former Captain of the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, a trustee and the present Chairman of Council; a past Captain of the Hittite Golfing Society and a member of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club in St Andrews. He enjoys game-shooting and spending time with his large family.
He has 4 children and 11 grandchildren.
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