Jensen’s innate understanding of form and function has led his eponymous company to set the standard globally for minimalist chic in all forms of silver, whether it be cutlery, teapots, tureens or jewellery.

After his apprenticeship with Guldsmed Andersen ended in 1884, Jensen worked as a modeller for the Bing & Grondahl porcelain factory. In 1898 he opened a small pottery workshop with his friend Christian Petersen. Although the designs they produced were well received, sales were not enough to support Jensen who was at that time now a widower with two small children.

In 1901 Jensen moved from ceramics to silver, taking a job as silversmith and designer for the master Mogens Ballin. A few years later, he decided to open his own silver-smith. In 1904 he opened his eponymous workshop at 36 Bredgade in Copenhagen; and in 1915 Jensen’s work was displayed in the first Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. The response was emphatic: his work was praised for providing “equal emphasis to shapes, ornamentation and execution and, by doing so, achieve[ing] the highest degree of perfection”.

His success led his workshop to expand quickly, growing to 125 people by 1918. He also expanded his retail spaces internationally where in 1909 he opened a shop in Berlin, then Paris in 1918. Throughout the 1920s his success continued, for in 1921 he opened a shop in London and then in New York in 1924.

 For another 10 years Jensen continued to create some of the world’s most exceptional works in silver, which have come to encapsulate the Danish aesthetic that favours sleek minimalism and functionality within luxury objects.

Jensen died in 1935 leaving a fourth wife, eight children and an unmatched mark on the jewellery industry. Jensen’s career was revolutionary in its remoulding of the creative potential of silver.

Today Georg Jensen continues to produce and sell jewellery, with around 1500 employees worldwide working across the company’s global retail spaces. Georg Jensen has three production sites: two in Denmark and one in Thailand, from which timeless Scandinavian designs are created, continuing Jensen’s legacy.

Style/Major collections

Jensen’s first piece of jewellery, the legendary ‘The Adam and Eve’ belt buckle was made in 1899. It is now owned by Dr. Michael R. Krogsgaard, a relative by marriage and an avid collector of Jensen’s work. In 2000 Krogsgaard founded the Georg Jensen Society, which by 2018 had about 100 members who meet annually for a talk or tour of his work.

Few Jensen jewellery pieces are made in gold, with silver being his primary metal to work in. Similarly, early Jensen jewellery rarely includes diamonds and generally uses gemstones that are traditionally classified as ‘precious’. Instead of emeralds, rubies or sapphires, Jensen introduced a splash of earthy colour with agate, amber, and opals. One such example from Krogsgaard’s collection is a pendant made in 1926 by Jensen which features a large tear-shaped green agate set in a floral silver frame and suspended on a large link silver chain.

Georg Jensen continues to create high quality jewellery and silverware. The contemporary designs are all carefully constructed in homage to Jensen’s distinct style. Jensen’s designs combine a fresh, simple outline with motifs adapted from the natural world. In his designs Jensen combined  the skills acquired from his technical training as a goldsmith with the keen appreciation for form fine tuned during his studies at the Royal Academy of Arts in Copenhagen.

Jensen’s legacy has proved long lasting, opening a door into the future of the decorative arts that merged art seamlessly with functionality.