With the tea ingredients selected, through innovation and imagination each element bloomed into a handcrafted, tactile jewel with a unique blend of materials. Exemplifying the meticulous yet experimental spirit of Hemmerle’s master craftsmen, a representational Rose brooch is sculpted from anodised aluminium – a process requiring extensive research, fine-tuning, and time. Achieving the desired colour takes utmost precision in the face of technical challenges, particularly in realising the subtle gradient observed across these petals. Surprisingly light in weight, at the brooch’s centre is an old mine-cut diamond.

For a second brooch, Hemmerle commissioned a hyper-realistic orange blossom in bisque porcelain from renowned porcelain manufacturer Nymphenburg which adorns a sculpted bronze base in a striking fusion of artistry. At the top of the delicate porcelain stamens, natural pearls replicate the flower’s anthers and its leaves are set with variegated demantoid garnets. This marks the first time that Hemmerle has collaborated on a jewel with a maker outside of its Munich atelier, where all other artisanal practices are carried out under one roof.

The striking Ginger Flower earrings are fully articulated and, as such, are acutely sensitive to the wearer’s every movement. Each diminutive bud is set with diamonds and delicately anodised, appearing almost hand-dipped with the flower’s vivid red hue. The Lavender earrings, meanwhile, are distinct for their abstract style with an intricate, allusive rendering of blue petals creating a bed for the central tanzanite. Integrated within the structural pattern of the reverse, a hidden latch reveals a cavity to be filled with lavender, imparting a calming, natural scent as an additional sensory experience.

Characteristic of Hemmerle’s process, all the pieces were crafted in a slow, sustainable manner. The jewels echo a period during which life for many dramatically shifted, prompting a more personal and mindful interaction with one’s immediate surroundings. With sharpened focus and creative impetus, Hemmerle welcomed the technical challenge of sculpting realistic shapes and forms with an unorthodox assortment of materials.

The healing power of nature sits at the heart of Infused Jewels. Seeking to add another dimension of resonance, Hemmerle commissioned two creatives to collaborate on an illustrated short story. Writer Greta Bellamacina shaped a poetic fairy-tale The Herb Garden which explores our collective influence on the world and the power of embracing community and nature.

It tells of the joy and colour to be found in reintroducing nature to the urban environment, creating an oasis in the heart of a desolate city, and celebrates the beauty of individuality. Imbued with symbolism and allegory, the reader is invited to embark on a meditative journey, forging a relationship with the story through subjective interpretation. The text is accompanied by Rosanna Tasker’s mesmerising hand-drawn illustrations. Her distinct style transports the reader into a dreamlike, fantasy world and encompasses the story’s themes in effervescent visual detail.

These inter-connected forms of artistry contextualise one another in a balanced and evocative body of work designed to bring people together in appreciation and expression. With tea as the conceptual anchor, art and nature intertwine through Infused Jewels, channelling the universal importance of maintaining an active relationship with the natural world and accentuating the ample benefits it offers in return.

About Greta Bellamacina

Greta Bellamacina is a renowned English poet. Her poetry is focused on uncovering the magic in the every day and finding the sacred hidden inside the mundane. Her work is known for breaking conventions and pushing the structural limits of the English language. Of The Herb Garden, she says: “I wanted to write a hopeful story but with the ‘archetypal tone’ of the great fairytales – something timeless, set in a world similar to ours, but slightly more magical and magnified, equally enjoyable for adults and children”. Bellamacina’s poetry collection Tomorrow’s Woman was published in 2020 by US publisher Andrews McMeel alongside a volume of feminist poetry she edited titled SMEAR, garnering international acclaim. In the same year, her Collected Poems was translated into Spanish and published by Valapaiso Ediciones. Bellamacina is also an actress and filmmaker; her 2020 debut feature film Hurt By Paradise was nominated for The Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film at the Edinburgh Film Festival. She is a long-term collaborator of Hemmerle and in 2014 edited the poetry collection Nature’s Jewels for a special project of the same name.

For more information please contact info@hemmerle.com

Please sign-up here to receive e-invites for upcoming events.

A Chinese (Mandarin) translation of the above is available here.