The Rise and Fall...and Rise Again

After over 25 years in the jewellery trade, Gerald Ratner was one of the most well-known and successful retailers of his generation. Being asked to give the keynote address at the Institute of Director's annual conference at The Royal Albert Hall should have been the crowning glory of two decades of empire building.

But his speech was seized upon the media after he joked about the quality of his products, including a remark that a Ratner's sherry decanter was so cheap because it was "crap". ...