About Alistir Wood Tait
Alistir Wood Tait is a jeweller and gemmologist, and has been prominent in Edinburgh’s jewellery establishment for more than 30 years. Alistir’s interest started as a schoolboy hobby collecting Scottish minerals, agates and gold panning. As a teenager Alistir was the youngest student to attain the Fellowship Diploma of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain in 1973. He set out on his professional career in the African gem trade working for Arthur Thomas Gems and returned to Edinburgh to develop his experience in retail, leading to the establishment of his own business in 1980.
Our first shop was a small but charming unit at Barclay Terrace on Edinburgh’s Bruntsfield Links. Everything was done on a shoestring with a watchmaker working upstairs and a clockmaker in the basement. Soon we outgrew our first home and moved to a larger and more prominent establishment on Bruntsfield Place, and for ten years there we served the people of south Edinburgh. An interest in specialist costume and fashion jewellery led to ‘Fabulous Fakes’ bringing the jewellery of Butler and Wilson, Monty Don as well as fashionable and fabulous vintage jewellery to Edinburgh.
We moved our home once again to Rose Street in the very heart of Edinburgh’s capital and have now traded here for more than twenty years. Our shop is a haven for lovers of beautiful things and our displays reflect the unique nature of our stock. Each of our staff is a specialist in their own field and we bring our love and enthusiasm for gems and jewellery to our customers and clients.
