Inspired by the inner world of the padparadscha – At the artgenève, Gübelin Jewellery presents the spectacular Blushing Wing necklace along with its latest art collaboration

Deep connection

Art and culture have always been of central importance to Gübelin Jewellery. And so, Gübelin Jewellery is again an active partner in the artgenève. Another expression of the deep relationship with art and culture is the artistic co-operation that presents an exciting arena for promising, up-and-coming artists. This year, Gübelin Jewellery has entered a collaboration with Miriam Laura Leonardi, represented by the Maria Bernheim gallery. On the occasion of this exclusive art fair, Gübelin Jewellery is presenting two novelties: the Blushing Wing necklace, a one-of-a-kind piece from Gübelin Jewellery, as well an art collaboration with Miriam Laura Leonardi, from which arose “Dial M for Slippers”. In keeping with the House of Gübelin’s Deeply Inspired philosophy, both pieces combine beauty, knowledge and artisanship and are inspired by the spectacular inner world of the precious padparadscha sapphire which graces the necklace. High-resolution photomicrography allows the artists an in-depth look into the gemstone, revealing its inner beauty and individual history. These spectacular structures bear witness to the creation of the padparadscha deep within in the earth. Raphael Gübelin, President of the House of Gübelin, explains: “In all our activities in our Swiss, family-owned company, we strive to recognise the deeper meaning. For example, we share our inspiration and exchange ideas with various other fields in order to open up new perspectives.”

 Blushing Wing

Blushing Wing from Gübelin Jewellery is an enrichment to the recently launched Aurora world of jewellery, which is based on the inner world of the coveted padparadscha sapphire. Sri Lanka, the Island of Gems, was where the first specimens of the rarest variety of sapphire in their typical pink and orange-coloured shades were discovered. Under the microscope, the interior of the padparadscha displays elegant structures known as “feathers”. Photomicrography inspired the designers to create Blushing Wing. In doing so, their design is a reference to Sri Lanka’s bird life, reminiscent of a bird spreading its elegant wings to greet the morning sun. This makes the necklace a homage to the place of origin of the padparadscha – the myth-steeped island of Sri Lanka.

 The necklace is characterised by its artistically arranged, organically sweeping elements resembling feathers. Blushing Wing is set with an impressive cushion-shape padparadscha sapphire from Sri Lanka, 12.10 ct, 120 sapphires in various pastel shades and brilliant-cut diamonds. Overall, this necklace contains 717 gems totalling 33.23 ct, set individually by hand with the greatest precision. The pastel-coloured sapphires were carefully co-ordinated to match the play of colours within in the padparadscha in reference to the photomicography. In addition, the warm colour of the red gold underscores the beauty of the sapphire. The harmonious interplay of the romantic colour shades calls forth the image of a delicate blush. The jewellery gently yet vibrantly graces the neck of its wearer. Despite its lightness and flowing shapes, it emanates a clear but unobtrusive presence. The multi-faceted mix of cuts, colours and shapes highlights the dynamic of its design while also hearkening back to the House of Gübelin’s rich tradition of jewellery and its glamorous creations from the 1950s and 1960s. To symbolise the Deeply Inspired philosophy, each piece of Gübelin Jewellery contains a ruby. The King of Gems is associated with passion and stands for Gübelin's love toward coloured gemstones. At the same time, the ruby is the trademark of Gübelin Jewellery. Prominently placed, it subtly but clearly presents Blushing Wing as a creation of the Swiss, family-owned business.

Dial M for Slippers

For their most recent artistic co-operation, Gübelin Jewellery shared their photomicrography of the padparadscha sapphire with Miriam Laura Leonardi. The artist and Zurich resident interpreted the colours and structures in the photomicrography as a digital code. Here she plays with contrasts and turns the inner life of the gemstone outward by producing a limited edition of 16 pairs of slippers printed with the spectacular photographic images. At the same time, she has chosen a different section of the image for each individual slipper, which contradicts the very principle of an edition by creating a set of one-of-a-kind pieces. But the work is also notable for its mutual elements such as traditional artisanship, the focus on fine and minutely detailed work, and the use of high-quality materials. Relying on her background as a shoemaker, Miriam Laura Leonardi stitched the slippers herself.

 The name of the piece is also at once a reference to Andy Warhol's illustrations of shoes – from the 1950s when he worked as a New York fashion illustrator, before he addressed this subject as an established artist in the 1980s, creating “Dial M for Shoe”. Additionally, the name “Dial M for Slippers” is a play on the title of Hitchcock’s film “Dial M for Murder”, whereby the letter M can be seen as well as a reference to the artist’s name. In her works, Miriam Laura Leonardi often addresses quotes from literature and film. Her “Dial M for Slippers” is an entirely different take on house shoes, which Goethe received as a present from his beloved.

 artgenève

The artworks from Gübelin Jewellery and Miriam Laura Leonardi will be jointly displayed during the artgenève. The design of the booth and the presence at the art fair are also part of the co-operative effort. The renowned art fair is a fixture on the Geneva cultural scene, attracting both national and international galleries. Along with the Maria Bernheim Gallery, which represents the artist Miriam Laura Leonardi, other galleries including Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Peter Kilchmann and Urs Meile are present at this year’s artgenève.