There was no doubt that the Lacloche brand was both very fashionable and very avant-garde in its day. However, a lot of time has indeed passed since then.
In other words, what was avant-garde back then might now be considered somewhat outdated, so for Sir Benjamin, who wanted to revive the family business, the first exhibition naturally required some more shocking items.
Even according to Benjamin's thinking, if the things designed by Leonard didn't meet expectations, he would also bring out some of the family's ancient but never-before-seen jewelry for this competition.
This wasn't to say that he had any particular views on Leonard or that he didn't trust Leonard, but he understood that this type of design work sometimes needed a bit of luck, even for the top designers.
Or, to put it another way, top designers indeed had the ability to design excellent works anytime and anywhere, but true masterpieces of art weren't so simple to create.
