In the 1950s and 1960s Scandinavian design, with its simplicity of form and natural materials was influential all over the world in many media, from textiles to furniture. Jewellery was designed around organic shapes, often merging to become miniature sculptural elements. Finely crafted silver was the preferred material, often in combination with inexpensive gemstones in unconventional cuts and asymmetrical compositions.

Unlike other European companies, which preferred anonymity, the Scandinavian firms such as Kaunis Koru in Helsinki, Finland, promoted their designers and encouraged them to make a name of their own. Jewellery production at Kaunis Koru began in 1956, and the company commissioned talented Finnish designers, such as Jan Salakari. He was widely known and exhibited at the groundbreaking international exhibition of Modern Jewellery at Goldsmiths’ Hall, London, in 1961. He was also a designer in glass.