Halcyon Days (company)

Halcyon Days Ltd is a British retailer of luxury goods including enamel products, fine bone china, crystal, cashmere, leather and silk.

The company operates its primary retail store at The Royal Exchange in London, with the company’s administrative HQ in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and its enamel production facility situated at its Strawberry site in the West Midlands, England. Products can be purchased at the stores, online at www.halcyondays.co.uk, and at other fine retailers worldwide including Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges, Neiman Marcus and Scully & Scully of New York, to name a few

It is one of a very small number of companies to have held all four Royal Warrants, including that of the late Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and still today is one of only 15 companies to hold all three Royal Warrants, as suppliers of works of art to the British Royal Family. The warrants held are those of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and HRH Charles, Prince of Wales.

History

Founded by Susan Benjamin in 1950, Halcyon Days was initially a small antiques shop based on Avery Row in London which specialised in dealing with English antiques, in particular small enamel boxes.[1] By 1959 the company had outgrown its original premises and moved to its home on Brook Street, where it remained for some 50 years. It now operates a shop in the Royal Exchange in the City of London and from its offices and showroom in Knightsbridge, London[2]

Whilst the English craft of enamellng onto copper flourished during the 18th century, by the 1830s it had almost disappeared; consequently the pieces which Halcyon Days specialised in were extremely rare.[3] In 1970 Susan Benjamin established a collaboration with enamel manufacturer Bilston and Battersea Enamels.[4]

In 1978 Halcyon Days was granted the Royal Warrant of Queen Elizabeth II, followed in 1987 by the Royal Warrants of the Duke of Edinburgh and The Prince of Wales, as the first ever ‘Suppliers of Objets d’Art’.[5]

By the 1980s the company began to produce new products in bone china and porcelain, and these now form a major part of the company's luxury goods portfolio, alongside the beautiful enamel jewellery and accessories collections launched in 2011. In 2016, the enamel jewellery line is joined by a new fashion watch collection. In 2008 the company opened a new workshop at Tipton. Today all enamel pieces are still hand-produced at the Strawberry production facility, and its fine bone china is made at its owned facility in Stoke-on-Trent.

Products

Halcyon Days’ enamel products include boxes, musical boxes, cufflinks, and bangles. A number of the enamel ranges are produced as limited editions., and commemorative products are key. The company also produces items in bone china, ranging from dinnerware to teaware, and gifts. Enamel bangles launched in 2011 are now sought after, and the jewellery range includes pendants and earrings, along with a fashion watch collection. Beautiful silk scarves, throws in cashmere, and leather gifts complete the assortment. Cufflinks in sterling silver & enamel make fine gifts for men.

Commissions and collaborations

One of the first commissions received was in 1970 soon after the launch of Halcyon Days Enamels, by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother for a box depicting Clarence House. In 1976 the New York Times reported that, on an official visit to the USA in the year of the Bicentennial celebrations, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh presented U.S. President Gerald Ford with a special Halcyon Days box. By coincidence the President gave the Queen another special Halcyon Days box, commissioned through Cartier, New York, to celebrate the occasion.[5] In the past pieces have been made in collaboration with Scott Henshall, the British Museum, Tate Gallery, National Gallery and Smithsonian Institutions.[5]

Presently the company holds licenses with Historic Royal Palaces, Gordon Castle, and Matthew Williamson

References

  1. ↑ "Halcyon Days".
  2. ↑ benjamin, susan (1995). the first 25 years of halcyon days. benjamin dent ltd.
  3. ↑ "Susan Benjamin". The Telegraph. 2010-08-26. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  4. ↑ Hurr, David (2010-10-13). "Susan Benjamin Obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 benjamin, susan (1995). The First 25 Years of Halcyon Days. Benjamin Dent Ltd.
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