Gillott’s supplied the trade with mother-of-pearl and also finished knife handles and spoons made from that material.  It was established in 1897 by a father and son: George William Gillott (1851-1921) and Edmund Arnold Gillott (1877-1937).  The former was the son of William Edmund Gillott, a warehouseman and bookkeeper, and his wife, Sarah Ann.   George William was trained as a pearl carver and cutter.  In the  Census (1901), George William was described as a 49-year-old pearl manufacturer and his son Edmund as a 23-year-old manager, who both lived in Dover Street.  Their rented address was ‘Henry Porter’, pearl cutter, 38 Arundel Street.  By 1905, the firm had become W. Gillott & Son.  George William Gillott, of Scalebor Park, Burley-in-Wharefedale, died on 12 May 1921.  He left £2,939 to his sons: Edmund and Herbert Heiffor.   The latter was an electro-plate manufacturer (see Watson & Gillott).   Edmund continued the business, which in 1923 moved to purpose-built premises at 17-21 Eyre Lane, known as Pearl Works.  Edmund Arnold Gillott, Chelsea Road, died on 14 April 1937, leaving £7,413.  

After the War, his widow, Florence Josephine Gillott (d. 1953), and their son, Herbert Arnold Gillott (1905-1985) were partners.   An account of the firm’s activities by J. H. Gillott appeared in International Cutler (April 1952).   It included a photograph of 73-year-old Mr J. Frost, who had cut pearl at the firm for over sixty years.   In 1986, the firm was incorporated.  The last owner, Michael Gillott (1935-2011), relocated in 1989 to Dronfield and operated W. Gillott & Son (Pearl Works) Ltd until 2005.   The firm was dissolved in 2012 and the derelict Eyre Lane factory was demolished at the start of 2014 to make way for a supermarket.  A short film of Gillott’s activities, ‘Fashioning Mother of Pearl’ (1937), can be seen on the website of Yorkshire Film Archive.