Gold Diamond | Original 1961 Hand-Painted Luxury

Launched in 1961, Gold Diamond marked a revolutionary turning point for Portmeirion. It was Susan Williams-Ellis’s first foray into bold, graphic patterns—a dramatic shift away from her earlier organic "Village" designs. This was high-fashion pottery intended for the sophisticated mid-century home, blending ancient geometric motifs with modern metallic luxury.

A Masterclass in Metallic Lustre

Gold Diamond was an incredibly expensive range to manufacture. Each piece featured hand-painted details using costly metallic lustres:

• Gold, Platinum, and Bronze: These precious metals were used to create six distinct geometric designs.

• The "Neapolitan" Gift Set: In a bold marketing move, Susan created a boxed coffee set featuring one of each of the six designs. This mix-and-match approach was "dramatically different" for the era and stood out against the uniform sets of the early 60's.

• Bone China Blanks: The very earliest Gold Diamond coffee cans were produced on delicate bone china blanks, adding to their premium status and lightweight feel.

Identifying an Authentic Original

Because of its immense style, the Gold Diamond pattern was copied extensively by other potteries. To ensure your piece is a genuine Susan Williams-Ellis original, look for these markers:

• Shapes: The design was almost exclusively worked on coffee ware (cans and pots) and a select number of jug shapes. It is highly unlikely to find authentic Gold Diamond on full dinnerware sets.

• Lustre Quality: Genuine pieces use real metallic lustres that have a specific depth and reflective quality that modern "gold-coloured" imitations lack.

• The Transition: Because the hand-painted version was so labour-intensive, it directly inspired the creation of the black-and-white Black Diamond transfer range in 1963.

A Collector’s Treasure

Today, Gold Diamond is considered a "Holy Grail" for 1960's Portmeirion collectors. It represents the very beginning of the graphic era that would define British ceramics for the next decade. Finding a complete Neapolitan set in its original box is a rare occurrence in 2026 and represents a significant piece of design history.

Seeking a rare Platinum or Gold original? Browse our authenticated Gold Diamond archive here.