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halfdon hansen story the ring maker

This is Us - Halfdan Hansen Sharing His Thoughts

“I went off to Canterbury University and did electrical engineering and then I got a job with an oilfield services company. My last assignment was In Tehran. It was brilliant. It was like joining the army but being paid well and not having to kill anybody."
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the nelson ring competition

The Nelson Ring Contest

On 21 July, we asked Nelsonians near and far: “If there was a ring that encompassed the spirit, beauty, geography, creativeness, or history of Nelson, what might it look like?” And to find out, we launched the Nelson Ring design competition, to give Nelsonians a chance to design and win the first ever Nelson Ring.  
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The New Zealand Herald asked us some questions about what it is like to work in The Ringmaker's studio

What's it like working for The Ringmaker?

My father Jens Hansen "The Ringmaker" was the creator of The One Ring™ for Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings™ and The Hobbit™ movie trilogies.  Made in Nelson’s most established and only internationally acclaimed artisan jewellery workshop our hand-forged designs are easily recognised & are crafted to last for generations. 

 

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Dane famed as father of modern NZ jewellery.

Soon, with apprentices and assistants on board to keep up with the nationwide orders Gurli sought, and the growing local demand, the workshop moved to Hardy St, and later to its current location on the corners of Selwyn Place and Trafalgar Square.  

Jens’ talent, energy, enthusiasm, and outspoken personality made the Jens Hansen workshop a place where artisans from all over the world came to learn about the craft, and experience Nelson culture, Jens Hansen style.
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A video of a Visit to the Jens Hansen Workshop

A video of a Visit to the Jens Hansen Workshop

World Traveller is a 20min show broadcast every Saturday night on the Shanghai Documentary Channel. In Feb-Mar 2009 they visited the Nelson region ...
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A life Less Ordinary - Jens Hansen

He also went to Denmark to learn about jewellery. Along the way, he married a young beautiful Dane, Gurli Winter. They returned to Aotearoa in 1965, and turned his father’s chicken coop into a workshop. Ultimately, like from the feathers of a phoenix, arose Jens Hansen Gold & Silversmiths.  
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