Nina Koppel’s Fusion ring marked a key moment for Georg Jensen jewellery on its debut in 2000, signalling a departure from the Danish design house’s silver tradition for a first flirtation with gold. Stacking rings are a mainstay of contemporary jewellery design but Koppel was ahead of the game with Fusion – a modular jewellery system comprised of an undulating set of rings, in rose, yellow or white gold. Beautifully engineered to fit seamlessly together, Fusion presents a jigsaw of options for the wearer and in it an element of personalisation. It’s still one of Georg Jensen’s most popular designs.
Now, on the eve of its twentieth anniversary, an updated Fusion collection is launched – and it has grown, with bangles, pendants and earrings. This new incarnation also reminds us Koppel is one of the unseen greats of jewellery design.
After studying textile design at the Kunsthåndværkerskolen, Denmark’s School of Arts and Crafts, Koppel set up a workshop in central Copenhagen, where she collaborated with other designers, focusing on interior furnishings as well as textiles. Her 47-hue ‘Tonus’ design for Kvadrat, which she created for the textile specialist in the Sixties, was one of the first elastic-backed woollen fabrics. It was initially used on the Jørgen Rasmussen office chair.
There’s a strong sense of Koppel’s textile work in Fusion. ‘The core of the Fusion designs is the fluid lines that signify them,’ says Georg Jensen chief creative officer Nicholas Manville. ‘It was important to keep a strong sense of movement as the foundation on which to create the new pieces.’ The original designs were engineered as a locking system, and as such the silhouettes were rigid, with minimal space between the pieces to make a whole.
The new collection stays true to Koppel’s original design – which she devised in 1987 – with lighter, elongated lines. Rather than add something new, Manville and his team have toyed with the organic origins of Fusion. By creating spaces between the wave lines the focus is on the outlines themselves. Or, as Manville puts it: ‘The new pieces are almost an animation of what happens before the elements come together – or fuse.’
The Fusion bangle in yellow gold, rose gold and with centre white gold pavé, is new to Georg Jensen this year
Openwork earhoops in white gold have also been added to the Fusion by Georg Jensen collection
This year’s Fusion open pendant in yellow gold and white gold pavé, by Georg Jensen
INFORMATION
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekFrom sumo wrestling to Singaporean fare, medieval manuscripts to magnetic exhibitions, the Wallpaper* team have traversed the length and breadth of culture in the British capital this week
-
Doshi Retreat at the Vitra Campus is both a ‘first’ and a ‘last’ for the great Balkrishna DoshiDoshi Retreat opens at the Vitra campus, honouring the Indian modernist’s enduring legacy and joining the Swiss design company’s existing, fascinating collection of pavilions, displays and gardens
-
Issey Miyake’s shape-shifting A/W 2025 collection transforms the paper bag into something you can wear‘Can anything be considered a garment, as long as it’s on the body?’ says creative director Satoshi Kondo of the art-infused collection, which sees the everyday reimagined
-
All eyes on Greek jewellery brand Lito as it launches bold new amulets to mark its 25 yearsStriking amulets, seductive stones and secret messages characterise Lito's striking new anniversary collection, an extension of its ‘Tu es Partout’ series
-
The best layering necklaces for an elevated yet casual lookHow to mix, match and stack jewellery for the ultimate high-energy, low-effort style
-
Late summer jewels: what to wear at Golden HourLate summer signals a jewellery style-shift. These independent designers have got it covered
-
Jewellery designers share their most precious personal piecesA host of jewellers give us a peek at the jewellery which brings them joy and solace
-
Hair jewellery to covet and collectToday’s hair jewellery is both practical and pretty. We're pinning our hopes on these simple and elegant accessories
-
Silver jewellery takes on sensual forms in the Georg Jensen Arc collectionGeorg Jensen creative director Ragnar Hjartarson rethinks sculptural shapes in the new Arc pieces
-
Andreas Kronthaler’s costume jewellery for Vivienne Westwood is fun, flirty and fabulousAndreas Kronthaler’s new jewellery draws on romantic and theatrical motifs
-
Fope’s flexible gold chains rethink a classic designElasticity meets elegance in Fope’s new jewellery collection, ‘Luna’
