Six generations of jewellers

Cityscape by Audrey Shorer

I've been fascinated today to find out more about the skills, talents and history of the Shorer family. Audrey Shorer is a long term member of St John's and I work with both Audrey and Peter Shorer in the Seven Kings and Newbury Park Resident's Association.

Historic Jewellery Reproduction was established in 1969 by Peter Shorer, F.I.I.C., acclaimed archaeologist and conservator at the British Museum for over 40 years, and has become the leading retailer of a specialist range of historic artifacts and stunning gold, silver and precious stone-set jewellery which have the uniqueness of being exact reproductions of the original exquisite pieces.

Peter, with his unprecedented experience of many years working with antiquities at the British Museum and countless other museums throughout the world, is one of the select few antiquarians allowed to handle and take moulds from these rare and priceless artifacts. His amazing reproductions have been acclaimed for many years as stimulating and exciting aids to the world’s history lessons and lectures as well as being a necessary part of historic cinema and televisual productions.

Four previous generations of gold workers and jewellers instilled this interest in Peter. His Grandfather made metalwork, of gold or silver, into which gems were set. His father was a setter of such gems in gold, silver and platinum metalwork, including re-setting gems in the Coronation Crown. Peter's son, Michael, is also a jeweller(http://www.mikeshorerjewellery.com/) making a sixth generation of jewellers.

Peter attended the Central School of Arts & Crafts in 1938 for an apprentice course of Jewellery design and manufacture, and silver-smith procedures. The following year, he was selected by the British Museum and employed as a ‘boy learner to learn to work with antiquities’. Within six months the Sutton Hoo Treasure was excavated but was packed away until after WWII, from which he returned in 1946, helped to unpack the Sutton Hoo treasure, and then designed and made supports for the many pieces to be exhibited. This was his introduction to ‘learning to work with antiquities.’

Mike Shorer writes that the family have been associated with the jewellery trade for over 250 years and that he started making jewellery when he was 11. With the help of his mother, an accomplished artist who taught him how to get his ideas on to paper and his father who taught him various metalworking techniques, he has been letting his imagination run around ever since.

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