| The Danish silver company Georg Jensen was | | | | Overall, his life was filled with personal sorrow |
| founded in 1904 and by the 1920s it had shops all | | | | having lost 3 wives as well as eventually the |
| over the world New York, Buenos Aires, Paris, | | | | control of the company. In 1925, he left the |
| London, Stockholm, and Berlin and by the 1950s | | | | company and moved to Paris to start a new |
| Jensen even had a shop on the Queen Mary | | | | workshop, but this venture was unsuccessful and |
| cruise liner. The son of a blacksmith and born in | | | | he returned to Copenhagen. There, he rejoined |
| 1866, Georg Jensen grew up in a poor family in | | | | the company as the artistic director where he |
| the little industrial town of Raavad north of | | | | continued to design for the company bearing his |
| Copenhagen. He always called it "a paradise on | | | | name until his death. |
| earth", fondly remembering its powerful oaks, | | | | The Georg Jensen name has always carried the |
| towering beeches, and blue clay which he used to | | | | mantle of the highest quality silver, made using |
| sculpture human figures. As a boy, he was sent | | | | the most expensive techniques of production. |
| to work at a foundry to help support his parents | | | | Authentic Georg Jensen silver is also quite hard to |
| and seven siblings. When he was 14, his family | | | | find, for even in its heyday in the 1930s - 1950s |
| moved to Copenhagen where he apprenticed with | | | | the number of silversmiths employed varied |
| a goldsmith. In his spare time, he took drawing, | | | | between only about 200 and 250. Today, the firm |
| geometry, engraving, and modeling courses during | | | | employs only 12. At one time, Jensen made 33 |
| which time he decided to become a sculptor. | | | | flatware patterns, 23 of which are no longer |
| While it was an improbable ambition for a working | | | | produced, and about 1200 holloware items such as |
| class young man, Georg passed the entrance | | | | bowls, candelabra, pitchers, tea sets, trays, vases, |
| examination of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine | | | | wine coolers, and covered fish platters. Like Georg |
| Arts and joined its sculpture class in 1887. After | | | | Jensen jewelry, many holloware pieces were |
| graduating in 1892, he first made art pottery while | | | | embellished with semiprecious stones like amber, |
| he married and had 2 children. After his wife died | | | | amethyst, garnet, lapis lazuli, malachite, opal, and |
| suddenly, he decided he would return to his old | | | | quartz. Within a given flatware pattern such as |
| craft of metalsmithing to support his family | | | | the very popular "Acorn", Jensen created as |
| making silver jewelry to his own designs. Finally, in | | | | many as 272 separate pieces including serving |
| 1904, he opened his own shop in Copenhagen and | | | | pieces, fish knives and forks, ice cream spoons, |
| soon had 60 people working for him. His designs | | | | and a fascinating array of other utensils and utility |
| were a success, but his business acumen was not | | | | pieces. |
| as he constantly needed to rely on new investors. | | | | |