H G Murphy’s greatest misfortune was to die just before the start of the Second World War.

The designs and inspirations of the pre-war era were simply seen as passé and totally out of keeping with the new spirit of modernism which quickly grew after the Festival of Britain in 1951. Harry Murphy served his apprenticeship under Henry Wilson, probably Britain’s greatest designer goldsmith of the Arts and Crafts era. Here he learnt a wide range of skills and techniques including enamelling, gem-setting and polishing, niello, engraving and hammering. From 1928 until his death in 1939 he worked from retail premises in Marylebone, London, known as the Falcon Studio where he designed and created a prodigious amount of silverware for the corporate, civic and private sectors as well as some truly startling gold, silver and enamel jewellery inspired by nature, architecture, the Ballet Russes and the vibrancy of the Jazz Age.   

   John Benjamin, President of The Arts Society, Henley

John Benjamin F.G.A., D.G.A. began his career in 1972 at Cameo Corner, the celebrated Bloomsbury jewellers. After qualifying as a Fellow of the Gemmological Association, he gained the Association’s diamond diploma with distinction and joined Phillips Fine Art Auctioneers as a cataloguer and valuer. He remained at Phillips for 23 years ultimately becoming International Director of Jewellery with responsibility for the sale programme in London and Geneva. In 1999 he established his own independent jewellery consultancy, John C Benjamin Limited.

John is a Freeman of the Goldsmiths’ Company and Freeman of the City of London. He is a Fellow of the National Association of Goldsmiths’ Institute of Registered Valuers and lectures on a wide range of jewellery-related topics in the UK and overseas. He was also a long-standing contributor to BBC Television’s ever-popular Antiques Roadshow