A gold-mounted agate snuff box, Leitão & Irmão, Portugal, circa 1885

With origins in early 19^th century Porto, the firm of Leitão & Irmão (fig. 1) was appointed Goldsmith of the Imperial House of Brazil by Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil, in 1873, as well as Jewellers to the Portuguese Crown by Luís I, King of Portugal, in 1887. The goldsmith José Pinto Leitão had registered his business in Porto in 1822, and fifteen years later had married Maria Delfina, daughter of José Teixeira da Trindade, a prominent Porto citizen, born in 1786, with close ties to the Brazilian gold business at the time. The firm flourished and expanded to Paris and London in 1866, after the sons of the founder had taken over and renamed it as Leitão & Irmão, under which name the company is still in business today, mainly focusing on bespoke jewellery and tableware.