Archinect - News

Paris Olympic medalists are taking home a piece of the Eiffel Tower, too

2024-07-27T14:00:00-04:00

The 5,084 official medals to be conferred at the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games all include pieces of iron removed from the Eiffel Tower during previous renovation work. The pieces are made by Chaumet. Each is about 85 millimeters or about 3.35 inches in diameter and includes an 18-gram chunk of iron positioned at its center.

The official Olympics website says: "On each medal, original iron from the Eiffel Tower was cut into a hexagon, the geometric shape that evokes France to the point of becoming its nickname. This symbol recalls the mobilisation of an entire country, beyond its capital, to offer historic Olympic and Paralympic Games. Without its usual ‘Eiffel Tower brown’ paint, the puddled iron has been left in its original colour. Placed in the centre and embossed with the emblem of the Paris 2024 Games, this piece of heritage fits elegantly among the gold, silver and bronze to give the medals a two-tone effect."

Architect Amale Andraos debuts first-ever jewelry collection for Judith Ripka

2022-12-19T19:00:00-05:00

“The challenge was adjusting to the scale,” Andraos said. “When I first started sketching, the pieces were much bigger. I remember the reaction — the team was very excited about the ideas but I wasn’t computing the budget,” adding that the process of design is “always the same across scales, but this experience was very different because the scale of jewelry and the way it relates to the body is so precise.”

Andraos, who stepped down as Dean of Columbia's GSAPP last May, told WWD that her inspiration to make jewelry for the first time came from her hometown of Beirut’s Art Deco tradition. Other architects like Elena Manferdini and Rossana Hu have contributed designs for the Judith Ripka brand. Pieces from Andraos’ new Ayah Collection retail for between $550 and $1,995. The WORKac co-founder will now rejoin the faculty in Morningside Heights in September after a yearlong sabbatical.

Related Feature Interview on Archinect: Deans List: Amale Andraos of Columbia University's GSAPP

“If you look at Amale’s body of work, she is known for asymmetry. Most people prefer symmetry in jewelry so it was an interesting challenge for us to wrap our heads around Amale’s aesthetic and make it work in jewelry,” CEO and GSAPP alumnus Robert D’Loren of Xcel Brands, Ripka’s parent company, added. “There are several finishes on the metal work, from shiny to matte which creates this remarkable sense of balance...

AMO undertakes set design and video art direction for Bulgari's summer 2021 fine jewelry show

2021-06-28T13:14:00-04:00

AMO, the research branch of OMA, has revealed its designs for Italian luxury brand, Bulgari’s, Summer 2021 fine jewelry show.

Photo: Agostino Osio/Courtesy of AMO

The firm carried out the show’s set design and video art direction. It is being presented at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a major landmark in Milan and Italy’s oldest active shopping gallery. The project is led by OMA Partner Ellen van Loon and Giulio Margheri.

Photo: Agostino Osio/Courtesy of AMO

Striking uses of light and color create a dramatic atmosphere that compliments the grandiose, classical nature of the iconic building.

As stated in the project’s press release, “In manipulating scale and time, the show creates a mutually reinforcing encounter between the splendors of fine jewelry and architecture.”

Photo: Agostino Osio/Courtesy of AMO

“We conceptualized the production as an interplay of the lyrical and the mechanical,” says Ellen van Loon. “We wanted to create scenes that resonate with the design of fine je...

Jewelry inspired by the architecture of global cities

2020-05-16T09:00:00-04:00

Italian-based Marco Zagaria has launched Teti, hyper-detailed micro "city-sculpture" modeled as a wearable ring. The pieaces are plates with precious metals with options in copper, silver, gold, and nickel. After the shape of the ring is composed using 3D-printing technology, it is then plated with the selected metal, and finally encased in resin. Rome, London, and New York are the three cities offered.

The design features significant icons from each city, including the Colosseum in Rome, the Empire State Building in New York City, and the Shard in London, among many others. Check out the company's kickstarter page here.

MVRDV creates a jewelry inspired installation for Milan Design Week 2018

2018-04-19T13:41:00-04:00

MVRDV collaborated with Bvlgari for Milan Design Week 2018 in an installation embodying the Italian jewelry brand’s creative approach. The firm transformed Bvlgari’s iconic Serpenti bracelet into a unique architectural experience. Finely crafted scales fill an entire room combined with mirrors to create a kaleidoscope effect, introducing the visitor to Bvlgari's world of precious and unconventional materials.

Serpenti installation for Bvlgari at Milan Design Week 2018, by MVRDV. Image: MVRDV.

“With this installation, we wanted to capture the colors, materials and inventiveness of Bvlgari as a world-renowned brand,” says Jacob van Rijs, co-founder, MVRDV. “By turning their timeless Serpenti pattern into a space, jewelry becomes architecture. Enter the Serpenti!”

The showcase at Milan Design Week takes place in the Brera Design District as part of Milan’s Fuorisalone. The installation is on view until 22 April 2018.

Spruce up with this architectural floor-plan jewelry by QUPA

2017-06-06T20:45:00-04:00

The architectural floor plans of the most extravagant structures can be a work of art themselves, as seen in the “CROQUIS” jewelry line by architects Eleni Kouineli and Stefanos Papadatos of Greek design studio QUPA. Fusing their love for handcrafting and architecture, Kouineli and Papadatos transform the floor plans of some of the world's famous cultural landmarks into elegant pendant necklaces and earrings.

The mini floor-plan pieces are made via classic molding, 3D-printing or laser cutting in materials like 24K Gold, platinum, ruthenium, and sterling silver. So far, the collection includes ancient rotundas, temples, and theaters as well as more contemporary buildings like Bernard Tschumi's Acropolis Museum and Daniel Libeskind's zig-zag Jewish Museum in Berlin.

Find more of QUPA's floor plan jewelry on their Etsy shop.

...

Bracelets shaped like cathedrals and necklaces modeled on aqueducts

2013-01-21T20:17:00-05:00

Joshua DeMonte, who is based in Philadelphia, said he looked to 'ancient' structures to develop the unisex range, which costs between $700 and $5,000. Talking about his designs he told Modern Luxury magazine: 'I enjoy playing with scale and connecting architecture to the body.’

Cinderblock necklaces pendants made from poured concrete

2012-07-25T19:36:00-04:00

Max Steiner's Cement Cinder Block Necklaces are actually cast from poured concrete and cured for a month before being sold. At 3/4" tall, they're the cutest construction materials with which you can adorn yourself.