DAVID MORRIS (b. 1936)

Renowned British jewelry designer David Morris, born in 1936, began his career at fifteen with an apprenticeship to a leading London jeweler. After completing goldsmithing studies at London’s Central School of Arts and Crafts, he founded David Morris Jewels in 1962, earning two DeBeer’s Diamonds International Awards in 1963 and 1964.

Morris's jewelry, distinguished by vibrant semiprecious stones and intricate organic goldwork, gained international acclaim. In 1972, he redesigned the Miss World competition crown, creating a lapis, turquoise, and diamond masterpiece still in use today. His jewelry was featured in the James Bond films Diamonds Are Forever and The Man with the Golden Gun and adorned notable figures such as Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Oprah Winfrey, and the Sultan of Brunei. Today, David Morris, alongside his son Jeremy, leads the eponymous jewelry house, with select pieces housed in the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Read more about David Morris and his contemporaries in our catalog London Originals, available for sale here.