Simon Benney (born 1 January 1966) is an English designer and maker of

jewellery Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

and

objets d'art In art history, the French term objet d'art (; ) describes an ornamental work of art, and the term objets d’art describes a range of works of art, usually small and three-dimensional, made of high-quality materials, and a finely-rendered finish ...

. The holder of two Royal Warrants, for

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

and

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...

(later King Charles III), he has personally undertaken commissions for the

British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

, 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 Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' 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 influen ...

, 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 S. Benney (born 30 May 1959 in London) 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 a portraitist. Benney's work is held in the 20 ...

, and a sister. He was educated at

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

and the

Gemological Institute of America The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is a nonprofit institute based in Carlsbad, California. It is dedicated to research and education in the field of gemology and the jewelry arts. Founded in 1931, GIA's mission is to protect buyers and s ...

Carlsbad, California Carlsbad is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is north of downtown San Diego and south of downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of ...

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 a

Goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

and

Silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exact synonyms, as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are (or were, at least) largely the same but differed in that t ...

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 Zoe or variants may refer to: People * Zoe (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** Zoë (British singer) (Zoë Pollock, born 1969) ** Zoë (Austrian singer) (Zoë Straub, born 1996) Arts and entertainment ...

, the series first aired in 2016 and followed

Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English China (material), 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 L ...

John Lobb Bootmaker John Lobb Bootmaker is a business that manufactures and retails a luxury brand of shoes and boots, mainly for men but also for women. Leather goods such as wallets and belts are also available. Founded in 1849 by John Lobb (1829–95), the b ...

and

Steinway & Sons Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in New York City by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth le ...

, as well as Benney. He also makes watch cases and has collaborated with various other houses including the House of Faberge. Benney is the designer and maker of The Three Graces, a

candelabra A candelabrum (plural candelabra but also used as the singular form) is a candle holder with multiple arms. "Candelabra" can be used to describe a variety of candle holders including chandeliers. However, candelabra can also be distinguished as b ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, valued by

Bonhams Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house and one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. It was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. This brought t ...

at between £250,000 and £300,000. It was unveiled at a standalone exhibition at

Goldsmiths' Hall Goldsmiths' Hall is a Listed building#Categories of listed building, Grade I listed building at the junction of Foster Lane and Gresham Street in the City of London. It has served as an assay office and the headquarters of London's goldsmith gu ...

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 harps.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benney, Simon English silversmiths Goldsmiths 1966 births Living people