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Creative Minds: Yasmin and Christian Hemmerle

The storied jewelry house is renowned for challenging the conventions of luxury

By Lucy Rees
Colorful, ornate pendant with green gemstone detail hanging in front of a textured, rusted bowl and a green mineral rock.
Hemmerle’s Ancient Egyptian faience necklace. Photo: Courtesy of Hemmerle

Woman in yellow dress sitting and man in suit standing near a window in a modern living room.
Christian and Yasmin Hemmerle. Monika Hoeffler

Yasmin and Christian Hemmerle, who run the 125-year-old, family-owned high-jewelry house Hemmerle, are renowned for challenging the conventions of luxury. Their revered bijoux mix gemstones with unconventional metals like aluminum and copper and rare aged woods to extraordinary effect.

With around 200 jaw-dropping pieces produced per year, no two are ever the same. “Materials are our starting point and it’s what drives our creativity,” Yasmin says. “Color is so important to us, and sometimes the classic materials aren’t enough to bring out the different hues of a gemstone.” Signature designs include rope necklaces made of intricately knitted cut stones using an old Austrian technique, spiky earrings studded with reverse pavé, and an open-ended bangle. And while the designs appear effortless in their simplicity, they take many years to create. “We never get bored of experimenting with design and process,” says Christian. The couple divide their time between traveling the world in search of stones and inspiration, running the Munich atelier with a team of around 20 master craftsmen, and exhibiting at prestigious art fairs, including PAD London and TEFAF New York and Maastricht, where they’ll be showing new pieces in the spring.

 

Box with vintage medals, photographs, and documents, showcasing military and historical memorabilia arranged neatly.
Hemmerle Pegasus Earrings, Star of the Royal Order of Saint Hubert, Bavarian Maximilian Order for Art and Science, Silver and White Gold Diamond Earrings from the Hidden Treasures collection celebrating Hemmerle’s 125th anniversary. Courtesy of Hemmerle

 

Colorful, ornate pendant with emerald green details hanging beside a textured green rock against a brown background.
Hemmerle’s Ancient Egyptian faience necklace. Courtesy of Hemmerle

 

Wooden bracelet with green and turquoise gemstones, featuring intricate design and elegant craftsmanship.
Bangle made of silver, white gold, wood, tsavorite, garnets, and turquoise. Courtesy of Hemmerle and Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, New York

Gold swirl earrings with pearls and diamonds displayed on a textured stone surface.
Earrings with diamonds, pearls, bronze, and white gold. Courtesy of Hemmerle

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2019 Spring Issue under the headline Creative Minds. Subscribe to the magazine.