Stenzhorn’s Persuasion jewels take the feather motif to new heights with a collection in rose and white gold featuring diamonds coupled with vibrant sapphires, rubies and tsavorites. The collection was inspired by the elaborate and energetic courting dance of the Bird of Paradise. Fanning out his entire body, tail and wing feathers to create a mesmerising visual display, the colourful Bird of Paradise devotes his energy to this extravagant and bizarre courting ritual and each bird has his own unique choreography of seduction. The island of Papua New Guinea is home to 42 varieties of the bird where the abundant food supply and lack of predators has freed up time to allow the males to develop this extreme form of courtship.
Anna Strarotsi designer at the German jewellery house Stenzhorn says: “Ever since I was a child I have been fascinated by Birds of Paradise. So when I was looking for a strong graphic element on which to base a collection, the feather shape came to mind. I wanted to capture the movement of the bird’s feathers and the drama of the dance.” Almost abstract in its simplicity, Ms. Strarotsi has taken the plume and reduced it to its basic form. The barbs of the plume fan out in rippling waves from a central stone to create large yet light forms.
The initial collection includes a cocktail ring (above) and also an open ring, hoop and stud earrings and three sizes of pendants. Sapphires, tsavorites and rubies add rich colour to the jewels that thanks to Stenzhorn’s advanced setting-techniques are able to be displayed to their full splendour. Using both the more traditional claw-setting for the brilliant-cut diamonds and invisible settings for carré-cut colour gemstones, together these two techniques create a contrast in texture as well as a pleasing intensity of colour. Meticulous stone-cutting and craftsmanship means that every undulating surface can be set with gems bringing both movement and brilliance to even the smallest of these jewels.
The cocktail rings have a Muse pear-shape diamond at the centre and the most extravagant version is a swirling fan of plumes shimmering with diamonds. The Muse diamond is a Stenzhorn speciality that seamlessly sets together diamonds to create the effect of a single large one. The open-ring that spans three fingers offers a more contemporary look and has two pear-cut diamonds, rubies, tsavorites or sapphires at its heart.
For the earrings you can choose between more everyday studs or a hoop version that is ideal for a more dressed-up evening look. Three sizes of pendants range from an informal lariat-style that is easy to wear with a plain white shirt to the statement tsavorite pendant with its eleven magnificent diamond and gem-set barbs.
The collection was launched at Baselworld 2018 and already Stenzhorn has plans for expanding the range. “I think the success of Persuasion is down to the wide range of styles from the smaller accessible pieces to the special versions. The simplicity of the design makes it very adaptable to different gemstones and settings so we have plenty of scope yet,” explains Ms. Strarosti.
