Simon Benney (1 January 1966) is an English designer and maker of
jewellery
Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a wester ...
and
objets d'art. The holder of two
Royal Warrants,
for
HM The Queen and
HRH The Prince of Wales, he has personally undertaken commissions for the
British Royal Family, including "a fair amount of the more recent Windsor family silverware".
He has been described by ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' as ''"''one of the country's leading silversmiths''".''
Family and education
Simon is the youngest son of journalist Janet Benney and silversmith
Gerald Benney
Gerald Adrian Sallis Benney CBE (21 April 1930 – 26 June 2008) was a British silver and goldsmith who along with David Mellor and Robert Welch popularised stainless steel designs in post-war British homes. Like Mellor and Welch he was influence ...
, the first British craftsperson to hold four
Royal Warrants at the same time - a feat Simon also went on to achieve in around 2000. He has two brothers, one the artist
Paul Benney
Paul Benney (born London, 30 May 1959) is a British artist who rose to international prominence as a contemporary artist whilst living and working in New York in the 1980s and 1990s in the UK as an award-winning portraitist.
Benney's work is held ...
, and a sister.
He was educated at
Charterhouse School
(God having given, I gave)
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public school Independent day and boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, president ...
and the
Gemological Institute of America in
Carlsbad, California
Carlsbad is a coastal city in the North County region of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is south of downtown Los Angeles and north of downtown San Diego. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 114,746. ...
.
Career
Having left the Gemological Institute of America, Benney worked independently during the 1980s before taking over the House of Benney from his father in the early 1990s.
Simon Benney in his own right is
Goldsmith and
Silversmith to the British Royal Family, holding all current Royal Warrants and regularly undertaking bespoke commissions.
Benney was the subject of a BBC documentary titled "Handmade by Royal Appointment",
a series which followed four different Royal Warrant holders. Narrated by
Zoe Wanamaker, the series first aired in 2016 and followed
Wedgwood
Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapid ...
,
John Lobb Bootmaker and
Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to ...
, as well as Benney. He also makes watch cases
and has collaborated with various other houses including
House of Faberge.
Benney is the designer and maker of The Three Graces, a
candelabra
A candelabra (plural candelabras) or candelabrum (plural candelabra or candelabrums) is a candle holder with multiple arms.
Although electricity has relegated candleholders to decorative use, interior designers continue to model light fixtures ...
which took two years to complete and was, at the time, the most valuable modern silver commission since
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, valued by
Bonhams at between £250,000 and £300,000.
It was unveiled at a standalone exhibition at
Goldsmiths' Hall in January 2008,
and was described by Bonhams head of silver Ellis Finch as: ''"''...a miraculous piece of design and construction. It is, of course, meant to be used and is fully functional, but in its subtlety and mastery of technique it should also be seen as a work of art – a modern sculpture."
Benney also collaborated with harp enthusiast Andy Lowings
on the re-creation of the "Golden Lyre of Ur", one of the 5,000-year-old
Lyre of Ur
The Lyres of Ur or Harps of Ur are a group of four stringed instruments excavated in a fragmentary condition at the Royal Cemetery of Ur in modern Iraq from 1922 onwards. They date back to the Early Dynastic III Period of Mesopotamia, between a ...
harps.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Benney, Simon
English silversmiths
Goldsmiths
1966 births
Living people