Hemmerle. Excellent and Naïve
The Hemmerle Jewelry House, being at the forefront of modern design, shatters stereotypes and fascinates its customers for more than 100 years of unmatched and naive pieces of jewelry executed manually, which do not yield to the works of art in their quaintness. Today, Hemmerle uses not only precious metals and unusual wood in their works, but also copper, aluminum, stainless steel and even concrete. This combination gives liveliness to the products of Hemmerle that forms their special style, the vector of which has changed several times: from traditional one to almost avant-garde.
Hemmerle
Hemmerle is the jewelry house, whose history has been around for four generations. In 1893, Joseph and Anton Hemmerle opened a jewelry shop in Munich. They gained general acceptance for stylish products made in complex jewelry techniques of the time. Following the example of Karl Josef Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria, in 1895, the goldsmith brothers were hired as designers and chasers of the Royal medals, decorations and other regalia. Thus, the Hemmerle brothers became official suppliers of the Royal Bavarian court. Constantly improving and honing the mastery of the executed masterpieces in the style of Art Nouveau, the Hemmerle brothers presented their works in 1900 at the World Exhibition in Paris, where their works with enamels were highly awarded.
The Hemmerle's work at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900
In 1904, the Hemmerle brothers open their Hemmerle jewelry store in Munich, at famous Maximilianstrasse 14. They offered classic style and impeccable quality of jewelry, silverware, military accessories to the buyers, simultaneously fulfilling the orders of the Royal Court of Bavaria, members of high society and prominent noble families. Until now, boutique and workshop Hemmerle are located at the same address as 114 years ago.
The Hemmerle store at Maximilianstrasse 14, in Munich.
In 1905, Hemmerle have been honored to produce Order of Maximilian ("Maximiliansorden") for achievements in science and art, established by the Decree of King Maximilian II of Bavaria at the end of 1853 — Bavarian order of merit in the field of Arts and Sciences. Artisans of Hemmerle produce this honorary award up to now.
"Maximiliansorden", Order of Maximilian.
After the WWI, beginning with 1921, Joseph and Anton Hemmerle gradually pass on experience and the reins of the family trade to their sons Charles and Joseph Jr. By 1937, House of Hemmerle completely goes to Karl Hemmerle. In 1968, Karl Hemmerle with his wife Laura are radically reconstructing the boutique of Hemmerle, and pass the control under the jewelry house to Stephan and Franz Hemmerle.
Boutique Hemmerle before and after reconstruction.
Stefan Hemmerle studied jewelry in Munich, taking the best from jewelers of France, Denmark and Italy and developed his own individual style. Excellently analyzing the intricacies of jewelry, having experience, skill and traditions of the House, Stefan Hemmerle fundamentally changed the direction and style of manufactured jewelry. With his arrival, the second ascent to the jewelry Olympus of the Hemmerle House started.
Stefan Hemmerle
Nature becomes an inexhaustible theme of inspiration for Stephan and designers of the Hemmerle house. True beauty, according to the creators, lies in the fact that we consider ordinary and routine. Every plant, insect and animal is perfect, and their mere contemplation can enrich us. The Tarantula brooch, one of the most significant design works by Stefan Hemmerle, can be considered done with exceptional anatomical accuracy of white and yellow gold, using the diamonds, sapphires, and rare red-orange pearls. In 1993, on the eve of the centennial anniversary of founding of the family jewelry house, Stefan revealed the sculpture of Bavarian Lion to the public.
The brooch "Tarantula". Hemmerle.
In 1995, Stefan Hemmerle creates jewelry that fundamentally changes the concept and philosophy of previously manufactured jewelry by the House of Hemmerle. Being impressed by German jewelry of the beginning of 19 century made of cast iron, which were worn by German patriots, who had donated gold to the liberation war against Napoleon, Stefan creates the ring of electrical steel by inserting the diamond, which is exceptional in its features. The work created a furore in the world of jewelry of those days. Having mentally broken the barrier between the classic jewelry style and completely new aesthetics of modernist jewelry design, which now included bold combinations of colors and textures, the use of the rarest, most amazing gems set into unexpected materials, such as iron and wood, the House of Hemmerle entered a new era of simplicity and magnificence of the 1990s.
Ring. Diamond, aluminum, white gold. Hemmerle.
Revival of almost extinct Austrian technology of "woven" jewelry becomes Stefan's next step. Each bead or element is cut, carefully selected for color and calibrated to achieve the perfect fit with each other; after that, it is strung on silk threads. This manual and time-consuming process allows them to produce extraordinary and sophisticated works of jewelry.
Earrings. The technique of "Woven" Jewelry. Hemmerle. Sotheby’s Hong Kong.
In 1998, Stefan Hammerle fundamentally changes design of the boutique at Maximilianstrasse together with the renowned Dutch Designer and architect Tom Postma. Reconstruction touched the workshops as well. They had to be expanded to 15 jobs to complete the full production cycle in one place.
New design of the Hemmerle boutique, 1998.
From that moment, a meteoric rise of the Hemmerle House to the World Jewelry Olympus began. Iconic collections of the Hemmerle House impress with naturalism. Collection of jewelry in the form of vegetables quickly gained popularity thanks to its courage and irony. Eggplant, pumpkin, red pepper and cauliflower appear in all their glory. The book "Delicious Jewels" was released simultaneously with the collection. It published recipes of vegetable dishes and pictures of jewelry by Hemmerle.
Delicious Jewels. Hemmerle.
Mushroom collection was published in 2004. It all started with the fact that when Stefan Hemmerle and his niece were perusing a book about mushrooms, their natural wild beauty captured him so much that he took a pencil. Artisans of Hemmerle created charming brooches in the form of realistic mushrooms of different species. They were exquisitely modeled and designed to every detail, from color to texture.
The mushroom-shaped brooches. Hemmerle
In 2006, Christian and Yasmin Hemmerle, the son of Stefan and his wife Silveli, joined the House finally consolidating design aesthetics of Hemmerle with powerful and defiant spirit of modernity.
Christian and Yasmin Hemmerle
After a visit to Cairo, the Hammerle family was captivated with ancient Egyptian artifacts, emotionally charged and incredibly bright images, abstract motifs and forms. Lotus flowers, gods and goddesses, temples, sacred insects were immortalized in precious metal.
Earrings from the collection "Egyptian History".
Micro-mosaic, copper, gold, sapphires.
In the collection of 2014, the House of Hemmerle created 16 images of plants from around the world. Innovative designs helped to create the next jewelry masterpieces. It took more than 3 years to make some of them and realism of portrayal is truly impressive. Physalis, chestnuts, acorns, wild rose... Designers, being true to themselves, had multiple materials in each masterpiece. The AL project of 2016 explores the unique properties of aluminum. The collection, consisting of 16 pairs (earrings + brooch), was first shown at an exhibition of TEFAF Maastricht in March of the same year.
The collection "Jewels of Nature". Hemmerle.
Today in the skillful hands of designers and artisans of Hemmerle, nature acquires a hyperreality; their complex creations impress as artworks, combining meritorious German luxury, sophistication and rationality in themselves, the features that are rarely found in modern jewelry masterpieces.
Brooch. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds.
Hemmerle. Sotheby's Geneva.
Products by the Lobortas Classic Jewelry House delight with their extravagant luxury, sensual passion and deep philosophical meaning. Each piece is a story, a special mood, original look and the admiration of the world. Graceful colors, original ornaments, amazing in their designs, and even innovative interpretation stresses the fact that only professional artisan is working over each product, by making a special mood and the admiration of the world.
Jewelry Sculpture «Savannah». Lobortas House.
Photo by Vladislav Filin.
