America has Frank Gehry, Switzerland has Le Corbusier and Brazil has Oscar Niemeyer. And now, the unstoppable and genial Niemeyer, aged an astounding 104, has designed a range of jewellery for H. Stern, inspired by his designs that put South American architecture on the map. H Stern is not just about luscious Brazilian gemstones. Design plays an important part in this house that dominates the jewellery market in Brazil. And now the great Niemeyer who designed the futuristic capital city of Brasilia in the 1950's and the ONU headquarters in New York turns his mind to smaller scale sculptural statements. All the designs stem from his love of curves, as seen in the easy, flowing lines of his sketches, said to be inspired by the bays and mountains of his home town Rio de Janiero, and perhaps the girls that stroll along its wide, golden beaches. This genius collaboration was the initiative of Roberto Stern, President and Creative Director of H Stern who has in the past collaborated with artists and designers form a wide variety of disciplines. In this case, Stern's creative team were inspired not by Niemeyer's finished works, but the deceptively simple, sinuous lines of his sketches. "The jewels are extremely pretty and very light," says Niemeyer." It's incredible how they have managed to exactly replicate my designs. The people who made these jewels are very talented!" The six different lines are named for landmark Niemeyer buildings and translate the loose, free lines of his style into precious metals and diamonds.
