Charles Morgan was born on the 8th of June 1951 in British town of Romford, near London, to Englishman Fred Morgan and his German wife Fidi. Charles lived here for over 13 years during which time he learned tolerance, cultivated a sense of humour and developed a taste for tea and the Royal Family! Even today he returns often to England to visit his childhood friends.

The family moved to Blonay (VD) in Switzerland when Charles was 13 years old. As he could not speak a word of French at the time, he quickly achieved the honour of being bottom of the class. Much of his time was spent at the local metal dump where he learned that nothing is really thrown away, everything is recycled, especially metal. This affinity for all things metallic coupled with his inventive nature, inherited no doubt from a very creative mother and a father who loves painting and design, lead him naturally towards a career in jewellery design and creation.

Before even beginning to work, he was already making jewellery at home using melted toothbrush handles to imitate precious stones! The art college, however, refused him entry because of his inability to write sufficiently well in French. Undeterred he took up a four year apprenticeship in a jewellers shop and studied at the same time the principles of mechanics, electricity, electronics and other modern technologies such as the laser. Since 1974 he has worked independently in Vevey where he quickly gained a reputation for producing extraordinary jewellery such as: rings with secret compartments; pendants which can open in 12 different ways; electronically controlled flashing jewellery; lighter holders in the form of small steam engines whose coal tender doubles as an ash tray.

Still it was the machines which interested him most and he began to devote more and more time to them. In 1975 he entered one of his machines for a competition during an Exhibition of Inventions and Hobbies in Geneva. At this first attempt he was awarded first prize. Encouraged by this success he went on to build more machines of all shapes and sizes using various energy sources some abstract, some funny but all typically Morgan.

In 1977, to mark the occasion of the famous Winemaker's Festival in Vevey, he created "The Wine Tasting Machine" which won a special prize in the Best Dressed Shop-Window competition which was organized as part of the celebrations.

In 1981, he showed over twenty of his works at the Danèse-Milano gallery in Lausanne. This proved to be an instant success with the general public and led to a television documentary about Charles and his creations. In 1984, the Swiss National Tourist Office commission a machine to be permanently displayed at the Swiss Transport Museum in Lucerne. Charles created "Tourismusflipper", a machine measuring some 5 metres by 2.2 metres where a metal ball represents a holidaymaker travelling around Switzerland. From then on, orders for machines big and small leave Charles with little time to create jewellery.

Charles Morgan's passion is still metal, and metal of any kind. However other materials too find their way into his creations as his basic " philosophy" is one of contrast. The contrast between gold and plastic, lead and feathers, but most of all between the flesh which is the machine and the blood which is the motor. Charles aims to simplify the arts and to demystify the technical. His machines are enjoyed by people of all ages and from all backgrounds. Everyone can see what they want to see, and everyone smiles.