Hemmerle launches a new Egyptian-inspired collection

Hemmerle's new Egyptian collection
Hemmerle's new Egyptian collection is inspired by ancient techniques, materials and colours. Here, a finely engineered bangle is crafted in gold, capped by diamonds
(Image credit: Hemmerle)

We are big fans of Hemmerle, and the Munich fine jeweller's unashamedly narrative take on a theme, not least because the tales its jewels tell are never as straightforward as they first seem. So when the brand announced it was unveiling new pieces last week, we were eager to see the treasures it had in store.

Some of Hemmerle's Egyptian-inspired earrings were shown at Masterpiece in London this summer, but now the full collection of pharaohs, falcon-headed gods and flowers has been revealed.

'The amuletic power of Egyptian jewels with their fascinating symbols and stories and stylised simplicity captured our minds and inspired us,' say Yasmin and Christian Hemmerle, the young husband-and-wife team behind the brand and the gatekeepers of its creative vision.

A native Egyptian, it was Yasmin who at first explored the theme and, after a family trip to see 'the infinite amounts of treasure' at the Museum of Cairo, the beginnings of the Egyptian collection were set.

Now we have 'temples, pyramids and dazzling colour' realised in a typically compelling series of earrings, rings, bangles and necklaces. And, true to Hemmerle's signature style, the collection is an impulsive mix of fine and basic materials precisely combined within a bold, finely engineered structure.

Traditional tear-shape earrings, for instance, take on a far more contemporary guise in Hemmerle's hands, as sumptuous brown tourmalines are suspended in a patinated copper-and-white-gold frame.

Another Hemmerle trick - and one that we are particularly fond of - is the beautifully considered mismatch of 'pairs': while the design of a set of earrings is exactly the same, the colour of the stones is slightly different (a green tourmaline offset by an olive-green one, say). This is only effective because the irregular tones are painstakingly considered.

The precious nature of Hemmerle's methods and material means that, from concept to creation, each jewel is unique - in every possible sense.

Earrings in brown-patinated copper and white

Traditional teardrops become contemporary in Hemmerle's hands: earrings in brown-patinated copper and white gold, with rich, brown tourmalines

(Image credit: Hemmerle)

Earrings in copper, white gold, brown diamonds

Ancient as modern: Hemmerle earrings in copper, white gold, brown diamonds, mammoth and smoky quartz

(Image credit: Hemmerle)

These white-gold and copper earrings are 'upside down

Topsy-turvy: these white-gold and copper earrings are 'upside down' set with cognac coloured diamonds

(Image credit: Hemmerle)

Olive green earrings

Spot the difference: a central green tourmaline is mismatched with an olive green one to make a Hemmerle 'pair' of earrings

(Image credit: Hemmerle)

Metal mixes: white gold, iron and black-finished silver

Metal mixes: white gold, iron and black-finished silver are the perfect frame for rounds of old-cut diamonds

(Image credit: Hemmerle)

Sapphires are set in floral shapes

Bright blue: sapphires are set in floral shapes against bright, patinated copper, white gold and black-finished silver

(Image credit: Hemmerle)

Iron-and-white-gold ring

Different facets: a 14.08ct diamond is clasped in an iron-and-white-gold ring

(Image credit: Hemmerle)

Temple-inspired: earrings in brown copper

Temple-inspired: earrings in brown copper, yellow and white gold, orange-brown, natural brown and yellow and green diamonds

(Image credit: Hemmerle)

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We are big fans of Hemmerle, and the Munich fine jeweller's unashamedly narrative take on a theme, not least because the tales its jewels tell are never as straightforward as they seem

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Caragh McKay is a contributing editor at Wallpaper* and was watches & jewellery director at the magazine between 2011 and 2019. Caragh’s current remit is cross-cultural and her recent stories include the curious tale of how Muhammad Ali met his poetic match in Robert Burns and how a Martin Scorsese Martin film revived a forgotten Osage art.