Anton Michelsen

(active 1841-1985)

A. Michelsen was a leading Danish royal court jeweller, in 1985 merged with Georg Jensen. The iconic maker was one of the first to produce luxury goods in the so-called Old Nordic style.

The company was founded in 1841 by Anton Michelsen (1809-1877), a hereditary blacksmith. Anton Michelsen travelled to Copenhagen in 1830, after having passed his apprenticeship test as a goldsmith in Odense, in 1828, where he trained further in various workshops, among others at Dyrkoph, court jeweller J.B. Dalhoff and later applied to the Academy of Fine Arts, where he was influenced by G.F. Hetsch. 

In 1836, he went on a long trip abroad and worked with leading goldsmiths in Germany and later in Paris. As soon as Michelsen returned to Copenhagen in 1841, he opened his own workshop in Gothersgade. The royal court became interested in the young and prosperous jeweller. Christian VIII charged Anton Michelsen with executing all Danish orders with the title of the royal court and order jeweller. 

As early as 1855, Anton Michelsen was the only Danish jeweller to exhibit at the first world exhibition in Paris and since then the company has participated with honours in most international exhibitions and fairs.

After Anton Michelsen's death in 1877, the business was taken over by his son, Carl Michelsen (1853-1921), a prominent lawyer and merchant. He employed several contemporary artists, including Arnold Krog, Harald Slott-Møller, Hans Tegner, Martin Nyrop and first and foremost Thorvald Bindesbøll. Upon Carl Michelsen's death in 1921, he took over the business. Under his board, the most famous artists of the time, such as Svend Hammershøi, Ib Lunding, Olaf Stæhr-Nielsen, Palle Suenson, Arne Bang and others provided drawings for the company. In addition to processing silver and gold, the factory craftsmen also started working with different kinds of enamels. In 1940, Poul Michelsen's son, Jørgen Michelsen (b. 1912), who was educated as an art historian and as a silversmith, was employed by the company and in 1943 he became a co-owner. In 1946, AB A. Michelsen, Stockholm, was established as a subsidiary. In 1985, the Royal Porcelain Factory, Holmegaard Glasværk, A. Michelsen and Georg Jensen were merged into Royal Copenhagen.

At the company's 100th anniversary in 1941, the owner Poul Ulrich Michelsen was appointed to Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog, and the Danish Museum of Arts and Crafts arranged a retrospective exhibition, dedicated to the legendary firm’s anniversary. A. Michelsen is undoubtedly among the most recognizable and renowned Danish makers, together with Arne Jacobsen, Georg Jensen and Finn Juhl.