A Short History of Jewellery Designer Henry George Murphy
Henry George Murphy was born in Birchington-on-Sea in Kent in 1884 and even as a small boy he showed an interest in jewellery. In 1899 the jewellery designer Henry Wilson offered him an apprenticeship and Murphy worked for Wilson until 1912, when he set up his own workshop. He initally worked in silver but soon moved on to gold and expensive gems. In 1922 he designed a gold, topaz and sapphire tiara for Mary, Princes Royal for her engagement, and in 1924 he designed a miniature version of the crown jewels for Queen Mary’s dolls’ house at Windsor Castle.
Murphy designed mainly pendants, brooches, rings and buckles in styles from Arts and Crafts to Art Deco. The pieces were exquisite and stood out from the cheap, repetitive jewellery of the day, which consisted mainly of cheap diamond chipped rings and brooches.
In 1928 Henry George Murphy founded the Falcon studio and took up making silverware such as church plate, trophies and domestic items covering a range from tankards to egg cups. His circular modernist coffee set won a gold medal at the Milan International Exhibition in 1933. Murphy’s first passion though was jewellery and he produced some stunning earrings and necklaces in the Art Deco style. He also produced a sizeable range of inexpensive silver brooches, his zodiac and animal designs being particularly popular. Continue reading »
Filed under Jewellery and Watches | Tags: Art Deco, art deco style, Arts and Crafts, Central School of Art, falcon studio, Henry George Murphy, HGM, miniature crown jewels, Queen Mary, Queen Mary's Dolls House, zodiac pendants | Comment (0)Collecting Lea Stein Brooches
Brooches, after being neglected by the fashionistas for a while, are definitely making a come-back. Not many of us can afford a high end diamond or Tiffany brooch, but there is some amazing costume jewellery around that is much more affordable. If you are a brooch person you should definitely check out Lea Stein brooches. They are colourful, fun and the designs are stunning.
Lea Stein was born in Paris in 1931 and not much is known about her early life, other than that she initially worked for Coco Chanel before establishing her own textile design company in 1957. The company started making buttons for the fashion industry and Lea’s husband developed a laminated coloured rhodoid, consisting of multiple, paper-thin sheets of cellulose acetate that could be inter-layered with materials like glitter to produce a stunning effect. The layered sheets were then baked to harden and various shapes would be hand-carved. Continue reading »
Filed under Jewellery and Watches | Tags: Art Deco, Christmas tree pin, Coco Chanel, collecting Lea Stein brooches, Fox pin, Gomina, Lea Stein, Lea Stein brooches, Lea Stein Fox pin, Ric the Dog | Comment (0)