The story of America's oldest and finest jeweler began in 1796 when John McFarlane a watchmaker and renowned silversmith opened a workshop across the street from Paul Revere at Downtown Crossing. Throughout the 1800s the company grew in its prestige until a consolidation of firms created the name Shreve, Crump & Low in 1869.

Like any epic tale there are stories of promise, success and tragedy. Marred by the Great Boston Fire of 1872 that destroyed the entire store, Shreve's rebuilt and went on to serve Boston's high society from the Cabots to the Crowninshields to the Kennedys. In 1899, a Harvard University tennis player named Dwight F. Davis commissioned a prodigious trophy from Shreve's to be awarded to the winner of a tournament to which they challenged a team from the United Kingdom. The prize is now famously known as the Davis Cup.