Westley Richards’ ‘Falcon’ Gun

From our September/October 2025 Issue

When the early 21st Century history of opulently ornamented firearms is written, the past 12 months will undoubtedly be described as the year of Westley Richards. In that period Westley’s, as the firm is colloquially known, has secured its position at the top of the high-art heap.

With a pair of 12-bore game guns lavishly larded with gleaming horses by jeweler Paul Lantuch and the “First Spear” double rifle, with enameled scenes of hog hunting from horseback in British India by Dayna white, Westley’s can genuinely claim: “Our engravings are of such distinctiveness and skill we are now regarded as the home of the Art Gun.”

Another gun recently described on Westley Richards’ “Explora” blog is the “Falcon” gun: a lightweight 20-bore with 27" barrels intended for a Middle Eastern sheikh. The Falcon gun celebrates the ancient sport of falconry, which has a long, deep-rooted role in traditional Saudi culture. The left lockplate is gold inlaid with a horseman launching a falcon in pursuit of a pack of Philby’s partridge; while the right lock offers a similar scene with a mounted man, but this time the raptor is a Eurasian saker and the prey is a solitary cape hare.

With gold-inlaid cursive script reading “Westley Richards” and a gold-lined border, the action shares striking stylistic similarities to the 12-bore sidelock Westley’s created to celebrate the wedding of HRH the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer. While comparisons are inevitable, the Falcon gun also displays dramatic differences. The Saudi coat of arms of two crossed swords with a palm tree in the upper space between the blades is new. So, too, is the toplever cleverly carved to resemble the head of a hawk. All of this drama plus a glossy color-cased background makes the gun, as the “Explora” entry claims, “one of the most beautiful guns to ever leave these workshops.”

For more information and additional images, go to westleyrichards.com.