Mother Nature In Her Inexhaustible

The creative potency of international designers, who will present their latest work during this year's inhorgenta europe, apparently knows no bounds. What is noticeable: Mother Nature in her inexhaustible, rich variety plays a most significant role as a source of creative inspiration.

Natural brooch with laminated images of blossoms, butterflies and other creepy crawlies by Unk Kraus

Inspired by the form and beauty of the water lily: chain by Uta Knoop

Bizarre surfaces such as those found on lava, tiles or earth inspire Marion Knorr in her ring collections

Andrea Borst uses glass to produce her mythical beings and blossoms, which she processes to form delicate chains

Nature

Whether we are dealing with landscape photography, forms of leaves and blossoms, structured surfaces, natural materials or even manifestations of nature such as wind, fog or water - all of these factors inspire designers from all over the world in equal measure to design individual jewelry. "Whatever is reminiscent of nature, is also beautiful, thus citing a feeling of inexhaustible boundlessness of life," wrote the cultural philosopher Friedrich von Schlegel (1772-1829). The jewelry designer Heike Besslich also uses the quote and implements her own observations from nature. The form and structure of details that at first glance appear unprepossessing such as ovaries, stamens, seeds and berries are the focus of her special interest. Marion Knorr draws inspiration from glowing lava or splashing water for her wedding and partnership rings. This creates moving surfaces, symbolizing glowing passion or the passage of time. Conversely, the Polish design team from Art 7 is fascinated by the unique character of natural amber, which characterizes the entire collection. The jewelry designer Unk Kraus creates a confusing natural stage play. His jewelry objects, made of laminated photo prints, backed by silver or gold foil, create extreme curiousity and are also much in demand as clever communication objects. This year he drew inspiration from nature and has created magnificent jewelry items with blossoms, beetle and butterfly motifs.

The name of a flower inspired Elke Hackner in the form of the pendant: "Crying Heart"

"Capalua" is the name that Heike Besslich gives to her earrings; their form is reminiscent of ovaries

Polished to form pointed buds, the amber jewelry by Art7 shines in its natural magnificence

Two "bud pendants" by Pura Ferreiro in silver and gold-plated silver

Salamanders wriggle on the rings by Monika Seitter

Play

A large number of playful items of jewelry make clear that jewelry is not just precious, imaginative and decorative. But rings and chains do not just seduce us to play when they are worn; instead, the designer appears to have been driven by the desire to hide, conceal, confuse and mistake during the process of creation and production. The rings by Susanne Vorsprecher, for example, have a misleadingly simple exterior, while hiding a secret on their interior. Conversely, the interchangeable jewelry by Sabine Spangemacher prompt any observer to take a second look. In her jewelry series "beautiful life", Anne von Wächter juggles with the topics of truth and lies, while Kirsten Plank plays with the idea of one and the same form for the jewelry and its packaging.

The basic ring in Ariane Hartmann's collection "Change" can be altered playfully using different exchangeable ring heads

Katja Korsawe plays with the idea of portrait jewelry and medallions. Her brooches "Girlish Dreams" are made of porcelain and textiles

Items of jewelry from the series "Beautiful lie" by Anne von Waechter. The apparent coral tropics on the pendants lends the series their name; they are in fact just photographs, but appear misleadingly genuine despite their two-dimensional structure

Appears as if it were arranged haphazardly: none of the silver chains "Croquis" by Susanna Kuschek are identical. Each has its own form of lines

Dice chain and dice container. In Kirsten Plank's work, the packaging and the jewelry are mutually complementary, while the geometry is the principle that defines the form

The secret is hidden on the interior. Ring for curious people by Susanne Vorsprecher

Interchangeable jewelry by Sabine Spangemacher. The images beneath the mat pane of glass can be exchanged

Intertwined cleverly, the individual elements of dyed parchment fit together to form feather-light arm jewelry. By Ulrike Hamm

Pearls

Who says that pearls have to be rowed up as a string? Or that the shimmering ocean treasures, generally have to be romantic? The Belgian jewelry designer Dominique Labordery proves the precise opposite. Her work is equally precious as it is powerful. Although she does fit small, white pearls together to form a string; however, integrated in the strictly graphic forms of the jewelry, they do have a more rational appearance. On the other hand, Claudia Liedtke has an entirely different approach to presenting pearls. Her specialty is combining literature and jewelry. For example, her cherry blossom necklace is dominated by a Japanese Haiku: the cherry blossoms fall, mother of pearl is spread over the table. The Dutch national Vincent van Hees, on the other hand, builds a veritable stage for one single pearl: resembling a dancer, the pearl appears to draw on the movements of the necklace.

The entire range of pearl variety is used by stones in style for its youthful necklace jewelry

"Cherry blossom necklace" made of delicately pink pearls and with Japanese haiku by Claudia Liedtke

Necklace with impressive positioning of one single pearl by Vincent van Hees

Graphics meet sensuality - brooch made of silver and small, white South Sea pearls by Dominique Labordery

"Lagoon" is the name of the nestling ring with a mysteriously blue shimmering Tahiti pearl by Angela Hübel

Images from an underwater world: colorful silicon hedgehogs and solitary pearls can be put together individually. By Perlen Yukie

Intaglios and Cameos

Whether one is dealing with the Holy Madonna, a group of angels with flowing hair or women's portraits - contemporary designers have rediscovered motifs cut in stone, as they were en vogue during the Art Nouveau or Renaissance periods, producing new jewelry interpretations. The fact that the motif stones, cut as grooves (intaglios) or to protrude (cameos) have lost nothing of their fascination is proven in this most creative style of work.

The renaissance of carved stones: brooch made of portrait gem in combination with South Sea pearls and uncut diamonds by Atelier Zobel

The magnificent cameo ring by the Polish jewelry manufacturer ABC Gold appears almost baroque

Old meets new: modern earring jewelry by Anne von Waechter with unusual female portraits

Miniature images of saints carved into stone are used by Steffen Lang in his latest jewelry collection

Red

Red is the color of love, of passion, of energy and of fire. Red warms, excites, drives forward, makes us active and sometimes even aggressive. Who could be surprised that jewelry designers draw inspiration from this fiery color and integrate it in their jewelry? Anja Pietrowski and Claudia Hoppe, for example, use red plastic materials, mixing them with the precious metals of their jewelry creations in an conspicuously inconspicuous manner. On the other hand, the jewelry created by the Dutch designer Neeltje Huddleston Slater is similar to langani in the use of red coral elements. Whether as a natural material, plastic, textiles, colord stones or metal, whether alone or in combination with other materials - the color red is a constant source of fiery ideas.

Andy Berck, tourmaline. He has risen to international prominence very quickly with his fantastic cuts

In the necklace 'Moarita' by langani, red, plastic coral arms are interspersed with embroidered pearls and mussel elements

Reduced language of forms in signal red: necklace jewelry by step by step

Anja Pietrowski's plastic rings in different shade of red and her rings made of gold or silver can be inserted flexibly

Homage to the Dutch North Sea: necklace and bracelet with coral and silver clogs by Neeltje Huddleston Slater

Provocative materials and exchangeable elements: the bracelets by Claudia Hoppe invite people to experiment enthusiastically

Humor

When have we ever allowed ourselves to grin or even laugh at the though of jewelry? However, the fact that there are jewelry designers who see their owrk as a humorous contribution to everyday life is extremely refreshing within a design scene that is sometimes all too convinced with symbolism and philosophy. A car, cut into three pieces and worn as a brooch, or a group of swimmers in cast resin emphasize: there is still space for light-hearted craziness in this industry also.

Festive jewelry not just for the Munich Beer Festival: golden pretzel pendant by Daniel Hiller

Miniature figures such as swimmers, cyclists or small farming landscapes are kept for posterity by the design duo Brune + Wöhlke in summery cast resin rings

Small dig at car enthusiasts: you will always have your beloved ride with you if you wear it as a brooch on your lapel. By Claudia Rinneberg

Gold

Gold - probably the oldest jewelry topic, reinvented time and again, as proven by international goldsmiths and jewelry designers. Sometimes, as in the jewelry manufactory Niessing, it is woven as a delicate precious metal ribbon to form an ethereal maze, while at other times it is processed to form a goblet enclosing a treasure, like in "glanz und gloria" by Beatrice Müller. Whereas the golden jewelry by the Spanish design duo takTo invites onlookers to feel and touch, the American designer Toby Pomeroy drew his inspiration from Tibetan crafts techniques, which he was fascinated with in his youth.

The jewelry manufactory Niessing has taken sheet gold and woven it into the breezy jewelry gnarl "Cirrus"

Beaten or smoothened - the golden Creoles are hand made by Toby Pomeroy

The individual elements are strictly graphic, put together to form golden rings by Dominique Labordery

Upon contact with the skin, the jewelry items by takTo are transformed into sculptures to feel and touch

Exterior shell - inner richness. Magnificent ring by Beatrice Müller

In Tania Gallas' jewelry items, the gold appears magically playful and romantic