In the 1950s and ’60s 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 Georg Jensen in Denmark promoted their designers and encouraged them to make a name of their own, such as Henning Koppel.

Henning Koppel was trained in drawing, watercolours, and later sculpture at the Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen, and in Paris. He is renowned for his product designs. During the Second World War Koppel fled to Sweden, where he worked at Svensk Ten in metals and Orrefors in glass. At the age of 27 he returned to Denmark and began to design for Georg Jensen silver and jewellery. He created his first range of silver jewellery for Jensen in 1945. The pieces had simple, asymmetric organic shapes of great sculptural beauty and purity. They were classic examples of what was soon seen as a distinctively Scandinavian style. Koppel's designs were highly innovative at the time. Many are still in production to this day. He designed ceramics, glass, lighting and furniture for a number of Scandinavian companies.