Absolutely Superb Rare Vintage (1978) Fully Hallmarked Original Danish “Georg Jensen” (Bond Street, London) 9ct Gold St Christopher Patron Saint of Travel Pendant (2.5cm, 4.8g)

Beautiful ornate and highly detailed St Christopher pendant. In excellent condition. Lovely weight and feel. Not a cheap run of the mill weightless pendant. Absolutely superb item beautifully handcrafted by a master jeweller of the highest order. Please browse all 12 sets of photographs attached for size, weight and condition as they are self explanatory. Needs to be seen and handled close up to be fully appreciated.

Legend has it that St Christopher carried a child, who was unknown to him, across a river before the child revealed himself as Christ. Therefore, he is the patron saint of travelers, and small images of him are often worn around the neck, on a bracelet, carried in a pocket, or placed in vehicles by Christians.

During the crossing, the river became swollen and the child seemed as heavy as lead, so much that Christopher could scarcely carry him and found himself in great difficulty. When he finally reached the other side, he said to the child: "You have put me in the greatest danger. I do not think the whole world could have been as heavy on my shoulders as you were." The child replied: "You had on your shoulders not only the whole world but Him who made it. I am Christ your king, whom you are serving by this work." The child then vanished.

Georg Jensen is the world's leading Danish Luxury lifestyle Brand. Exclusive Danish design including luxurious Jewellery, Silver, Watches, and Home Décor

Georg Arthur Jensen (31 August 1866 in Rådvad – 2 October 1935 in Copenhagen) was a Danish silversmith and founder of Georg Jensen A/S (also known as Georg Jensen Sølvsmedie).

Born in 1866, Jensen was the son of a knife grinder in the town of Raadvad, just to the north of Copenhagen. Jensen began his training in goldsmithing at the age of 14 in Copenhagen. His apprenticeship with the firm Guldsmed Andersen, ended in 1884, and this freed Georg to follow his artistic interests.

In 1887 he enrolled at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi), where he studied sculpture with Theobald Stein. He graduated in 1892 and began exhibiting his work. After graduation he studied ceramics with Joachim Petersen (1870–1943).

Although his ceramic sculptures were well received, making a living as a fine artist proved difficult and he turned his hand to the applied arts: first as a modeller at the Bing & Grøndahl porcelain factory and, beginning in 1898, with a small pottery workshop he founded in partnership with Christian Petersen. Again the work was well received, but the sales were not strong enough to support Jensen, now a widower, and his two young sons.

Jensen made his first piece of jewelry in 1899, a silver and silver and gilt "Adam and Eve" belt buckle. In 1901, Jensen abandoned ceramics and began again as a silversmith and designer with the master, Mogens Ballin. This led Jensen to make a landmark decision, when in 1904, he risked what small capital he had and opened his own little silversmithy at 36 Bredgade in Copenhagen.

Jensen's training in metalsmithing along with his education in the fine arts allowed him to combine the two disciplines and revive the tradition of the artist craftsman. Soon, the beauty and quality of his Art Nouveau creations caught the eye of the public and his success was assured. The Copenhagen quarters were greatly expanded and before the end of the 1920s, Jensen had opened retail in Berlin (1909), London (1921), and New York City (1924). The New York retail store, Georg Jensen Inc. (New York, NY), was founded and operated independently as a family business by Frederik Lunning, a successful salesman of Georg Jensen products first in Odense, then in Copenhagen.

The first store, 1924-1935, was incorporated as Georg Jensen Handmade Silver, followed in 1935-1978 by the large Fifth Avenue department store selling many goods aside from Jensen silver, incorporated as Georg Jensen Inc.

In 1930, Adda Husted Andersen worked for Jensen in New York City, enamelling homewares.

During his lifetime, Jensen's work was collected by museums including the Danish Museum for Decorative Art and the Museum Folkwang. In 2005, the Bard Graduate Center in New York presented an exhibition entitled, Georg Jensen Jewellery.

When he was twenty Georg Jensen signed his first sculpture with "My Father" (1887). In 1894 he used the markings GJ as brandsign and from 1899 he often used GJ. In most cases the year was put next to the brand sign.

The company Georg Jensen A/S (originally Georg Jensens Sølvsmedie A/S) is a Danish designer company with focus on silverware. It was founded by silversmith Georg Jensen in 1904.

After finishing at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1892, Georg Jensen tried his hand at clay sculptures, before moving to the applied arts. He began as a modeller at the Bing & Grøndahl porcelain factory and, in 1898 he had small pottery workshop. In 1901, he abandoned ceramics and resumed work as a silversmith and designer with the master, Mogens Ballin. This led Jensen to make a landmark decision, when in 1904, he risked what small capital he had and opened his own little silversmithy at 36 Bredgade in Copenhagen.

In 1909, Jensen opened his first shop in Berlin, and the following year, he received a gold medal for the work he displayed at the International Exhibition in Brussels. In 1912, he opened a larger workshop and a larger retail shop in Copenhagen.

The company's Berlin store entered a period of financial trouble with the beginning of World War I. The company did, however, enjoy international success, winning the grand Prix at the 1915 world's fair, with William Randolph Hearst reportedly buying the whole exhibition.

By 1917, the business, also due to lack of silver during WWI, was suffering, and to rescue the business Georg Jensen asked help from his brother-in-law, Thorolf Møller, and one of his earliest important clients, Peder Anders Pedersen (1869-1937), who had made a fortune building the first power stations in Denmark. The two invested 440,000 crowns, topping it up two years later and taking the share capital of the company to 1.2 million crowns. P.A. Pedersen also took over the chairmanship, but the post-war years proved to be challenging, amid recession and bankruptcies, and as the business struggled, in 1924 Pedersen became the firm's managing director too.

Georg Jensen concentrated on the artistic side of the business, but probably felt his pride violated when control of the silversmith was thus lost. In 1925 Georg Jensen moved to Paris, when he opened a branch of the silversmith, but following year, he returned to Copenhagen and reconciled with P.A. Pedersen, continuing as its creative leader until his death in 1935.

Together with Thorolf Møller, P.A. Pedersen wanted to expand further, and in 1924 had financed the opening of a branch in New York. This was to become a very important branch, and its agent, Frederik Lunning (1881-1952) its indefatigable driver. He began displaying in the lobbies of the finest hotels in the city, and with orders flooding in, arguably helped save Georg Jensen from the crisis at home. It was Lunning who established the Georg Jensen store on 5th Avenue.

It is Meanwhile, at the beginning of the 1930s, Pedersen established a metalware factory (PLATA), which could produce silverplated and steel products, something which Georg Jensen opposed, but was probably a necessity during the economic depression.

In 1931, P.A. Pedersen's son, Anders Hostrup-Pedersen (1902-1980) joined the company's management. In 1937, after his father's death, he took the role of managing director, a post he maintained until 1970. A. Hostrup Pedersen put his mark on the company's development particularly in the post-war years, attaching to the company's silversmith workshop a number of prominent artists, including Sigvard Bernadotte, Henning Koppel, Søren Georg Jensen, Magnus Stephensen and Nanna Ditzel, giving them ample freedoms to further the founder's high-quality standards and develop new styles. As a result, Georg Jensen's international standing became even more recognized. A. Hostrup-Pedersen was a great organizer and worked actively in several industry organizations, not just as board member of the Gold and Silverware Manufacturers' Association (Guld- og sølvvarefabrikantforeningen) and the Goldsmith's Joint Council (Guldsmedefagets fællesråd), but especially between 1958-1971 as chairman of the National Association of Arts and Crafts (Landsforeningen for kunsthåndværk). As the driving force behind a number of large exhibitions of Danish handicrafts abroad, such as in 1958 at the Louvre in Paris, in 1960 at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts in New York (1960) and in 1962 at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, A. Hostrup Pedersen was able to also promote Georg Jensen abroad.

Royal Copenhagen purchased Georg Jensen in 1972 and merged it with Orrefors Kosta Boda, Boda-Nova Höganäs Keramik and the Venini, to create the Royal Scandinavia Group. In 2001, the private equity group Axcel Capital Partners bought Royal Scandinavia Group. In 2012, Investcorp acquired Georg Jensen from Axcel for US$140 million. In 2022, Prince Felix of Denmark became a model for the brand.