There are only a few silverware and jewelry making companies in the world that can boast with a long history and remarkable influence on the trends of design in the decorative arts. George Jensen is definitely one of them. With over one hundred years of history the company has presented to the world numerous outstanding collections of silver flatware and holloware and is at present best known for its unique and innovative jewelry designs. Georg Jensen, the company, has been internationally renowned for the high quality of its products and the exceptional pieces its designers have created for the past century.
What is today a multinational company was first founded in 1904 as a small workshop in Copenhagen, Denmark by Georg Jensen – a graduate of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts who had previously worked as a sculptor. The academic education of Jensen, however, had been only the natural continuation of his training as a goldsmith which began when he was fourteen. Before starting his own business he had also been an apprentice to one of the most prominent Danish silversmiths at the time. During his thirty years of work he set numerous trends in jewelry and silver making that have been widely accepted in Europe and the rest of the world and built the foundations of a constantly expanding prosperous business.
Sterling Silver Tea Service with Waste Bowl and Waiter Tray, from 1927 - Pyramid by Georg Jensen
Georg Jensen was one of the most notable representatives of the Art Nouveau movement with his innovative jewelry and silverware designs. However, he always put his individual creativity and that of his designers as the leading element in the works of his company. Jensen specialized in the production of silver flatware using the techniques he had learnt from his father and mastered as an apprentice. He adopted the organic curvilinear and gentle forms promoted by the Art Nouveau. The natural world was the major source of inspiration for models such as the blossom, cactus, dahlia, fuchsia, lily of the valley, rose, cypress and acanthus patterned silver cutlery. The designer and his colleagues were also inspired by the arts of ancient local and world cultures. Jensen and his co-workers, such as designer Johan Rohde, created distinctive and unique silver flatware sets and separate pieces having the Viking, Nordic, Old Danish, Persian, Mayan and even Elsinore patterns. Some remarkable silverware tea and coffee services were also produced and their elegant, universal, naturalistic and most importantly functional designs soon grabbed the attention of art critics and customers alike. The ornamentation Georg Jensen used was also impressive and in accordance with the Art Nouveau principals with the floral, fruit and vine motifs as well as the whimsical and mystical twisted and piling forms and patterns creating exceptional ensembles.
Georg Jensen Bracelet in Sterling Silver and Nephrite Jade
The jewelry made by the company was also primarily designed by Jensen himself although the other designers contributed to the creative process. The founder of the company worked mainly with silver in the beginning of his jewelry making career, although he later presented remarkable gold, white gold and platinum pieces as well. The designs of the necklaces, earrings, bracelets, pendants and brooches were also inspired by the natural world. The gentle and exquisite floral and leaf and simplistic beautifully curved organic forms were complemented with various decorative motifs. The stylized blossoms and leaves were particularly popular, but butterflies, birds and dolphins were also present to create a sense of harmony and peace. The mysticism of the epoch was also reflected in the whimsical imaginative ornaments created by the designers. In the spirit of the Art Nouveau movement Georg Jensen experimented with adding various precious and semi-precious stone as the accents to his jewelry designs. The semi-precious agate stones were amongst the most preferred in his workshops for their pastel and bold diverse colors ranging from turquoise to bright yellow. During the Art Deco era Georg Jensen became the leader in jewelry production by introducing geometrical designs and sharp straight lined decorative ornaments and patterns. The works became so influential that they were soon widely imitated throughout Europe. The Jensen women’s jewelry remained the most abundantly produced, but the silver accessories for men such as the tie bars also became popular for their new less curved and elaborate and more “manly” designs.
Throughout the 20th century the company started by Georg Jensen continued to expand. Throughout the years notable designers such as Henning Koppel as well as Nanna Ditzel, and Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe created some of the most memorable models and collections of the company. Even the designs of the Swedish Prince Sigvard Bernadotte were used. In the 1980’s the distinctive Danish and Nordic style of the company became even more widely popular in countries with distinguished cultural traditions such as Japan. The new millennium came with another astonishing success of Georg Jensen when they introduced their interactive Fusion gold and diamonds jewelry collection. In 2004 the one hundred anniversary of the company was celebrated and at present new collections are constantly coming to the market and continue to fascinate admirers.
