Simon Benney
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| This article, Simon Benney, has recently been created via the Articles for creation process. Please check to see if the reviewer has accidentally left this template after accepting the draft and take appropriate action as necessary.
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| This article, Simon Benney, has recently been created via the Articles for creation process. Please check to see if the reviewer has accidentally left this template after accepting the draft and take appropriate action as necessary.
Reviewer tools: Inform author |
| This article, Simon Benney, has recently been created via the Articles for creation process. Please check to see if the reviewer has accidentally left this template after accepting the draft and take appropriate action as necessary.
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Comment: Not enough independent, significant coverage. WikiOriginal-9 (talk) 17:55, 7 November 2023 (UTC)
- Comment: The only source contributing towards notability is the BBC piece, and it alone isn't enough per WP:GNG. DoubleGrazing (talk) 13:44, 10 April 2023 (UTC)
Simon Benney (01 January 1966) is a designer and maker of jewellery and objets d'art, and the holder of two Royal Warrants.[1] for HM The Queen and HRH The Prince of Wales. This means he personally undertakes commissions for the British Royal Family, including 'a fair amount of the more recent Windsor family silverware'[2] and was decribed by The Guardian as "one of the country's leading silversmiths"[2].
He is the owner and CEO of House of Benney, and was featured in the BBC Documentary "Handmade by Royal Appointment"[3][4][5]. He also makes watch cases[2] and has collaborated with various other houses including House of Faberge[6][7].
He is the designer and maker of The Three Graces, a candelabra which took two years to complete and was, at the time, the most valuable modern silver commission since World War 2 with an estimated value from Bonhams of between £250,000 and £300,000.[8][9] It was unveiled at a standalone exhibition at Goldsmiths' Hall in January 2008[10], and which Bonhams head of Silver, Ellis Finch described 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."[9]
Simon also collaborated with Harp enthusiast Andy Lowings[11] on the re-creation of the "Golden Lyre of Ur", one of the 5,000-year-old Lyre of Ur harps[11].
Early Life & Education
Simon is the youngest son of journalist Janet Benney and silversmith Gerald Benney CBE[12], who was himself the first British craftsperson to ever hold four Royal Warrants at the same time[13] - a feat Simon also went on to achieve in around 2000.[14]
Simon was educated at Charterhouse School[15] and the Gemological Institute of America[16] in Los Angeles, USA. Simon has two brothers, one the artist Paul Benney, and a sister.
Career
Having left the Gemological Institute of America Simon worked independently during the 1980s before taking over the running of House of Benney from this father in the early 1990s[17].
Simon in his own right is Goldsmith and Silversmith to the British Royal Family, holding all current Royal Warrants and regularly undertaking bespoke commissions[1]. He was the subject of a BBC documentary titled "Handmade by Royal Appointment"[3], a series which followed four different Royal Warrant holders narrated by Zoe Wanamaker, first aired in 2016 and which also followed Wedgwood, John Lobb Shoes and Steinway as well as Benney
References
- ^ a b "Benney | Royal Warrant Holders Association". www.royalwarrant.org. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
- ^ a b c Henley, Jon (2009-11-14). "How to make a watch". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
- ^ a b "BBC Four - Handmade: By Royal Appointment, House of Benney". BBC. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- ^ "'Handmade: By Royal Appointment'". www.assayofficelondon.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- ^ Milner, Glen (producer and director); Bright, Richard (executive producer); Wanamaker, Zoe (narrator) (May 29, 2016). "House of Benney". Handmade: By Royal Appointment. Episode 3. BBC. BBC Four.
- ^ "Bonhams : BENNEY A unique silver and enamelled beaker, an early prototype for the Fabergé Silver Collection mark for Simon Benney and additional mark for the Fabergé collection, London 2010". www.bonhams.com. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
- ^ "FABERGÉ Pinterest Account - exquisite silver and enamel tumblers and shot-glasses created in collaboration with Royal Warrant silversmith Simon Benney". Pinterest. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
- ^ Stephen, Phyllis (2019-08-12). "Best of Bonhams on show now". The Edinburgh Reporter. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- ^ a b "Bonhams : Most Valuable Contemporary Design Silver Ever Offered at Auction at Important Design Sale". www.bonhams.com. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- ^ "Bonhams : BENNEY the unique contemporary silver and enamelled candelabra suite 'The Three Graces' Simon Benney, London 2007". www.bonhams.com. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- ^ a b "BBC - Ancient looted harp re-created". 2005-07-31. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
- ^ "Departures | Gerald Benney". Departures. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- ^ Hughes, Graham (2008-07-24). "Gerald Benney - Obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
- ^ Colman, Elizabeth (2023-10-17). "How to work in the city and live in the country". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
- ^ "OC Profile - Simon Benney (S84)". www.charterhouse.org.uk. 26 February 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- ^ "JCK - The Jewellery Industy Authority, Forecast". 1997-01-01. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
- ^ "About House of Benney". House of Benney. Retrieved 2023-10-17.