Bauhaus Archives | gioiellis.com

Niessing, lord of the rings

Published on April 15, 2022

Anello Spannring in oro bianco e diamanti

The Bauhaus lives again in Niessing jewelry: the refined simplicity of design copyright.

Germany is the country where he was born Bauhaus. And that rationalist design movement emerged from Walter Gropius and co-workers in the thirties, continues to be a source of inspiration throughout the world and, of course, also in Germany.
So a German brand which has over 140 years of history, in the seventies built his headquarters according to the dictates of the Bauhaus and cultivates a passion for that ingeniously simple design also for his jewelry. Niessing, a company based in Vreden (North Rhine-Westphalia, bordering the Netherlands) is indeed synonymous with design. Its round rings, with a simple diamond stopped within the band of gold is of an exemplary simplicity, but also very difficult to make. And gold is not any yellow metal at 18K.

Niessing Spannring in versione oro giallo e diamante

A refined formula, Aura, allows Niessing to propose a gold that fades in different shades, or that has a color cast from green, pink, yellow, white, red. As in the version of his iconic ring once baptized Lucia. A name that alludes also to the ability to give light, with the brilliant cut diamond in full view, stopped with a sinuous variation of the golden band. Which also in this case is proposed in different shades of color. And that would have liked Gropius too, probably. Or in the Mirage collection, a game of illusions, super light gold and platinum jewelry, which received the German Design Award and the RedDot: Best of the Best: an almost hypnotic design that pays homage to geometry.

Collana con pendente Wave in oro giallo e diamanti

The rationalist art of Alexandra Jefford

Published on November 29, 2021

Rings/Showroom

Anello Yin & Yang, con onice e diamante taglio pera

When you are creative, there are no limits. Alexandra Jefford, designer, painter, illustrator and, above all, capable of making jewels that are truly different from others testifies to this. Luxurious, but fun, minimalist, but ironic, simple, but smart. Alexandra Jefford was born and raised in Geneva, but she moved to London, where she studied at Central St Martins. Then, she focused on engraving and drawing and worked as an artist and illustrator, before turning to jewelry in 2002 after studying jewelry design at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and Gemology the Gemological Association of Great Britain. .

The artistic training also explains the interpretation that Alexandra Jefford gives of jewelry. For her collections, in fact, she drew inspiration from the Bauhaus movement and post-war American abstraction in the 1950s, but also from expressionist painters. Result: rings like Yin & Yang look like an abstract painter’s painting.

Another aspect that seems to bring it even closer to the Bauhaus is the idea of combining art and craftsmanship in a single discipline. In his curriculum there is also room for a series of proposals and interventions, such as the collaboration with the London luxury brand Smythson with a collection of five rings, the jewels presented at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, at the Pad London and Paris Art Fairs , in GemGèneve and many others.

Collana Duality Himalayan Range Navy and Gold Mammatus

Anello Camelot con onice, diamante e smeraldo

Anello di Alexandra Jefford. Copyright: gioiellis.com

Alexandra Jefford. Copyright: gioiellis.com

The Bauhaus by Alexandra Jefford

Published on July 11, 2021

Rings/bracciale/Showroom

Anello in oro bianco, con perla dei Mari del Sud, granato e diamante

The Bauhaus and the design of the thirties revive in the jewels of Alexandra Jefford ♦ ︎

Alexandra Jefford has been making and designing jewelry for years. In short, she is not a designer who has just finished her studies. Alexandra Jefford, from London, married to screenwriter and director Hossein Amini, was actually born and raised in Geneva. But she studied art at London’s Central St Martins. But she does not design for jewelry: instead she has taken courses in engraving and drawing. And this explains why her jewels are conceived precisely by putting the design in the foreground.

After a debut as a painter and illustrator, indeed, in 2002 Alexandra dedicated herself to jewelry, after the usual jewelery design course at the Gemological Institute of America and gemology in Great Britain. Those who know the design of the mythical Bauhaus and abstract art in the 1930s and 1940s will find a clear echo in Alexandra Jefford’s sculptural jewels. But, unlike the design objects of the famous German school, her jewels are collector’s items, not for retail. Gold and stones like tourmalines and peridots are in fact used for jewels one of a kind.

Anello Solomon's Knot, in oro giallo — Anello Solomon’s Knot, in oro giallo

Orecchini Hotel California in oro bianco, diamanti, lapislazzuli

Guggenheim Ring, in oro giallo 18 carati, diamanti gialli, e berillo giallo

Lady Luck ring, in oro bianco e giallo, peridoto, diamanti, perla del Mari del Sud

Anello in oro bianco e giallo, diamanti, perla dorata dei Mari del Sud

Architecture, rings and design come together with Swiss ArchiJewels

Published on January 27, 2021

Rings/Design/Showroom

Anello Four Season, omaggio a Le Corbusier

A century later, the Bauhaus remains the lighthouse that illuminated the design. Indeed, it gave birth to design: the German art school born in 1919 combined crafts and fine arts, industry and aesthetics. It is no surprise that even today the Bauhaus inspires those who design a piece of furniture, a table accessory, or a jewel. And this is what happened in Medrisio, a Swiss town on the border with Italy and headquarters of AnD, a company founded by the Italian-Swiss architect Eleonora Castagnetta. Her project is called Swiss ArchiJewels and consists of merging architectural imagery and its principles with the design of the jewel.

But, in addition to a series called Bauhaus Alphabet, which consists of 26 rings made through writing fonts, the designer has also designed jewels dedicated to famous architects, such as Le Corbusier. The great Swiss architect is evoked with four rings that refer to a little-known project: the pilgrim’s refuge, a small building at the foot of the Ronchamp chapel, which was made to accommodate the workers during the construction of the sacred place. Or the silver rings dedicated to Mario Botta’s project for the Church of San Giovanni Battista in Mogno, Switzerland. In short, jewels for those who love architecture and design.

Anelli ispirati al lavoro dell'architetto Mario Botta — Anelli ispirati al lavoro dell’architetto Mario Botta

Collana Four Season, omaggio a Le Corbusier

Tre anelli in argento della serie Bauhaus Alphabet

Anello in argento della serie Bauhaus Alphabet

Solaris, Niessing’s hottest collection

Published on June 9, 2020

Rings/Showroom/COLLANE

Collana con oro di diverse sfumature, collezione Solaris

Solaris: the new Niessing collection is inspired by the star that illuminates the Earth. To tell the sun’s irradiation through jewels, the German Maison has chosen to interpret gold through different shades, a bit like the perception of sunlight suggests, with shades tending to yellow or red according to the time of day, from sunset to sunrise. Next to the colors of gold, the other element that characterizes the Sun is sphericity. The gold pearls that make up the necklace, but also the rings with satin metal offer the pleasure of a sober and warm jewel at the same time.

Fedi in oro e diamanti della collezione Solaris

In fact, Niessing stands out precisely for its ability to combine a clean design with the warmth of jewelry. Indeed, Niessing’s design philosophy is rooted in the Bauhaus. The great school that was the progenitor of modern design, born in the thirties, is still the inexhaustible source of inspiration. While many Maison draw from the same source, the Art Dèco, Niessing has chosen a more difficult path, but certainly more appreciated by those who love rational forms and at the same time an original creativity. Starting from the most famous jewel, of which we have already spoken, the patented Niessing Ring.

Anelli della collezione Solaris in oro giallo e rosso, diamanti

From the Bauhaus to the Niessing Cube

Published on July 3, 2019

Showroom

The Niessing Cube, the new jewel of the German Maison inspired by the design of the Bauhaus ♦ ︎

The Staatliches Bauhaus was a German art school operating from 1919 to 1933. In 2019, in fact, the hundredth anniversary of the foundation is celebrated. The Bauhaus was combined craftsmanship and fine arts, and was famous for its innovative design, which linked aesthetics and industrial product. The German Maison Niessing is the one that more than any other was inspired by that great school of design. Its jewels are ingeniously simples, like the famous Ring designed by Walter Wittek, since 2001 recognized as copyrighted work of art.

Now the German brand is launching another jewel inspired by the Bauhaus, Niessing Cube. It is a pendant for a necklace or earrings, which changes according to the way it is worn. It is composed of four rectangles of white or yellow gold interconnected to form a cuboid structure. When the Niessing Cube slips on the necklace or on the circles of the earrings, the geometric order “turns into dynamic chaos”. In short, a jewel between geometric volume and dice game, because the shape changes with the body movements of the wearer. Scommettiamo che sarebbe piaciuto anche a Walter Gropius.

Aello tondo, una delle icone di Niessing. L'anello è dal 2001 riconosciuta come opere d'arte protetto da copyright. Design: Walter Wittek — Aello tondo, una delle icone di Niessing. L’anello è dal 2001 riconosciuta come opere d’arte protetto da copyright. Design: Walter Wittek

Anello in oro grigio e diamante di Niessing

Niessing celebrates 100 years of the Bauhaus

Published on April 25, 2019

Showroom

Anello in oro bianco e diamante dedicato ai 100 anni della Bauhaus

The Bauhaus interpreted by Niessing: luxury jewelry in the minimalist version of the historic design ♦ ︎

The Staatlitches Bauhaus was a school of architecture and art born in 1919 in Weimar, Germany. And it is not excessive to say that the Bauhaus marked the beginning of modern design. The idea of combining functionality with simplicity, which together form a pleasant aesthetic, was born there. Closed the school with the advent of Nazism in 1935, the idea of the Bauhaus is not dead. Indeed, 2019 celebrates the hundred years of that cultural revolution. And the echo is also heard in jewelry. Particularly thanks to the jewelery Maison that has always been the closest to that way of understanding design: Niessing.

Simplicity and beauty, in fact, are the paths taken by the German brand, famous in particular for its rings that hold a diamond, proposed 40 years ago and now redesigned. Niessing is openly inspired by the minimalism of the Bauhaus, according to which form follows function, and one does not forget to celebrate the century since the birth of the most famous design school in the world. For example with the Niessing Coil necklaces, with a soft metallic thread that is wrapped like an industrial product, punctuated by seven, nine or 11 diamonds. Or with stackable rings, perhaps with gold in different colors. Many ways to remember the Bauhaus, but above all to renew the lesson it has left. Giulia Netrese

Anelli impilabili Architecture in oro di diversi colori

Anelli della collezione Architecture in oro di diversi colori