Oscar Niemeyer needs few introductions. For the uninitiated, suffice
it to say that Niemeyer is best known as the architect who for decades
has jewelled the Brazilian skyline (and a few others as well) with
soaring, swooping sculptures of reinforced concrete, which also happen
to serve as buildings.
So perhaps it is only fitting that Niemeyer, who recently turned
101, is the theme of the latest collection by world famous jeweler H.
Stern. Only thing is, Niemeyer is also an unreconstructed
communist, who never misses a chance to pillory plutocrats and
capitalist fat cats, whose fairest necks Stern's creations have
exquisitely adorned.
Marxism isn't what it used to be, of course. And if there's one
thing Niemeyer hates more than capitalism, it's the right angle. So as
long as there are swerves, loops, bends and curls to create, comrade
Niemeyer is at home. Which is apparently exactly what H. Stern had in
mind when it signed on Brazil's master builder for the collection that
debuts December 15.
With 160 stores in 12 countries, not to mention the fleet
of floating shops on ocean liners, H. Stern is one of the major names
in the luxury trade. Founded by German emigré Hans Stern, who died last
year at age 85, the Rio de Janeiro based business is known
for elevating tourmalines, opals, topaz and other onetime "semi
precious" colored gemstones from the bauble business to high fashion.
The company is now in the hands of the second generation of the
Stern family. It is also one of the leading names in the vanishing
elite of family owned jewelry empires--reckoned to rank among the
top five brands worldwide--and the only major jeweler committed to
working all aspects of the trade, from the mine shaft to the madam:
buying stones, cutting and designing jewels, and retailing. In recent
years, the company has invested in niche collections, inspired by the
work of top Brazilian sculptors, artists and fashionistas, such as
Diane von Furstenberg.
The latest collection takes its cues from Niemeyer's curvaceous and always playful lines, albeit
scaled down from the architect's patented epic oeuvre to the jeweler's
petite. Highlights includes a bracelet that emulates the Edifício
Copan, a serpentine office tower gracing the choc-a-block skyline of
São Paulo:
And a pair of ear rings that echo the mountainlike facade of the
Pampulha, a church and community center encrusted in the hills of Belo
Horizonte:
Who says you can't go well-dressed to the revolution?
