Elkington & Co. was founded in Birmingham, England, in 1836 by George Richards Elkington (later joined by his cousin Henry Elkington). Birmingham at the time was the epicenter of British metal manufacture, and Elkington quickly became a leader in luxury metal goods.
The firm is best known for perfecting and commercializing electroplating, a revolutionary process that allowed a thin layer of precious metal (silver or gold) to be deposited onto base metals with exceptional durability and detail. Elkington patented this process in the late 1830s, fundamentally changing the decorative arts industry.
