Christopher Nigel Lawrence (b. 1936) is a renowned British silversmith whose career began with a desire at the age of 13, and a demanding apprenticeship at just 15¾, skipping traditional academic paths in favour of hands-on practical application. His early experience at C.J. Vander and later R.E. Stone laid the foundation for his technical mastery, especially in complex flat work. His skill ultimately earned him three Jacques Cartier Awards, including one for a rose bowl made early in his career. Lawrence’s collaboration with prominent designers like Gerald Benney, for whom he worked as a workshop manager for nearly a decade in the 1960s, pushed his technical and artistic boundaries. Ultimately, a desire for creative freedom led him to establish his own workshop in 1968, marking the beginning of an independent and highly influential phase in his career.
Over the next decades, Lawrence’s reputation grew internationally. Major exhibitions in London and Europe showcased his innovative yet elegant designs, culminating in a celebrated one-man show by The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in 1973. He launched the House of Lawrian, expanded his workshop, and developed both exclusive retail designs and quirky collectables like a range of botanical mushrooms. His later commissions included high-profile work for the Bank of England, the Royal Mint, and for clients in the Middle East, notably a monumental silver-gilt cake stand for the Sultan of Oman in 1998. More recently, one of his most important collaborations was with enameller Fred Rich in 2008: a technically and artistically complex bowl and ewer set. Christopher Lawrence's legacy rests in his rare combination of design brilliance and technical virtuosity, making him one of Britain’s most accomplished contemporary silversmiths.
