Obituary: Peter Edward Gainsbury, FIMM, CEng.

Published: 1st March, 2007

Peter Edward Gainsbury, FIMM, CEng. 24th February 1923 – 22nd January 2007

Former Director of Design & Technology and Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths

Peter Gainsbury was probably one of the most influential people in the British jewellery Industry from the 1960’s until the late1980’s, through his positions at the Goldsmiths’ Company and his work with jewellers and silversmiths in the UK and worldwide. He was born in South Ealing in 1923 and his early years were passed there and in Essex and South Harrow. At school he excelled in science subjects and was encouraged by his teacher to pursue studies in metallurgy. His first job was for AEC, the principal builder of London Buses and heavy lorries but he soon left to work for EMI where he received valuable training in metallurgy, microscopy, industrial photography and x-rays. His next job was for CAV, a manufacturer of electrical equipment, where he became well respected by their engineers.

By this time Peter was studying at Battersea polytechnic, aiming to be awarded an Associateship of the Institute of Metals, a professional qualification of first-degree status. He took up a position in 1947 as a metallurgist at Mond Nickel Company’s Precious Metals Laboratory (INCO), later achieving his AIM qualification that was later upgraded to FIMM; he also qualified as a Chartered Engineer. At this company he became involved with developing practical techniques of employing investment casting of high melting precious metals. His first experiments used dental casting investment. He publicised to the jewellery trade that the company would provide demonstrations and Peter became well known as a free source of technical information to the trade.

In 1966 Peter joined the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths as the Development Officer, a new post that had been created to try to improve the technical standards of goldsmiths and silversmiths, as the performance of many British workshops were seriously lagging behind their competitors abroad. He was by now a recognised authority in the fields of precious metal investment casting, soldering and brazing. Due to the eternal shortage of office space at Goldsmiths’ Hall he was offered facilities at the Sir John Cass College in Whitechapel, facilities which had been the Ladies’ Restroom until the day before and came furnished with sofas, armchairs and a full length mirror. When he had re-organised this space he was allowed a part-time secretary and the use of a telephone in an office two floors below. He quickly built up good working relationships with many of the College staff and was generously allowed to use the technical and other facilities in the Departments of Silversmithing and Metallurgy, which was of great assistance to him and through him the Company.

His brief was effectively to ‘drag the trade into the 20th century’. He decided that the best way to implement this brief was the following:-

1. To provide an advisory service on the day-to-day technical problems arising in workshops.

2. To seek out and publicize new developments in techniques, materials and equipment.

3. To organize research into the long-standing problems of the industry.

4. To improve the quality of the training of new entrants to the industry and of those already in it.

This program received the full backing of the Court of the Company and formed the basis of Peter’s work over the next twenty years, and was added to along the way. Indeed, although time has moved on in many ways, much of the Company’s work today is built on the foundations constructed by Peter.

In 1971 he was able to move to offices adjacent to the Hall; he was given the title Director of Research; he was able to take on more staff; his funding was increased and his activities expanded. In 1981, following a major internal reorganization of the Company, he was made Director of Design and Technology and took on the additional responsibilities for encouraging good design and for encouraging the public to buy the trade’s products. And at last he was able to have offices in the Hall.

His achievements in 22 years with the Goldsmiths’ Company were numerous. There are many workshops, still in existence, which benefited from his direct hands-on advice on layout, and on equipment and procedures for casting, polishing, plating and so on. He promoted the photo etching process and the updating of an old process – electroforming and supported Louis Osman when he designed and made the crown for the investiture of the Prince of Wales in 1969. In research, his projects included the elusive quest for a silver alloy that did not tarnish and the use of refractory metals such as titanium and niobium in jewellery, as well as the direct casting of stones in precious metal. In training, the annual business course for new entrants, which still runs, and the brilliant master classes on many different craft processes, which brought hundreds of craftsmen to the Hall, are particularly notable. Many British designers and craftspeople benefited from his support and encouragement in the early stages of their careers. The annual Goldsmiths’ Fair at the Hall was one of his initiatives, and the blockbuster exhibition of the work of Lalique, which brought thousands to the Hall was another.

In the course of his extensive travels and visits to trade fairs and manufacturers he forged close links with jewellers and silversmiths all over the world and by giving advice and sharing his incredible technical knowledge he built up an incredibly high reputation for himself and the Company. He was always encouraging British exhibitors at overseas trade fairs to better their presentations and the quality of their products and to use designers to improve the saleability of their products overseas.

One of his last actions before retiring was to influence the opening up of the Freedom of the Company to many hardworking and highly qualified craftspeople, who would not have been eligible under the old rules. He effectively helped to ‘democratise’ the Company and to bring it into line with contemporary thought.

Peter died peacefully in Kent and Canterbury Hospital and a celebration of his life was held at Barham Crematorium, near Canterbury, on the 5th of February 2007. Peter is survived by his son and daughter and six grandchildren from his first marriage and by his second wife Pauline, a talented jeweller and silversmith, whom he met whilst running casting training courses and who worked closely with him in developing the use of refractory metals in jewellery and joined him in his vast enthusiasm for every aspect of the precious metal trade. His interests included gliding, jazz and, in retirement, computers. He became interested in computer-aided design for jewellery and silversmithing and the possibilities of various drawing programs.

Peter was a man of honour who never relinquished his principles and a loyal servant of the British jewellery industry, constantly seeking ways to improve it. He shared his knowledge with all who would listen, not only in the UK but also abroad, knowing that in return he would learn and increase his ability to serve others. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

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