schullin wien
Tradition Reinvented
A
JEWELLERY
JOURNEY
by Vivienne Becker
ABOVE
Brooch with rotating elements and a dazzling ruby centre | gold
“A perfect example of Herbert’s gift for capturing the artistic mood of the early 80s is the design for a brooch that dismantles the disc or circle, layering the broken pieces on top of each other, the smallest triangular fragment, front and below, set with a single-coloured gem and diamonds.”
(V. Becker)
PART II
Herbert Schullin moved from the Graben to the Kohlmarkt in 1982, and again commissioned Hans Hollein to design his new store, as strikingly dramatic as the first. Both are now protected heritage sites.
In Hollein’s distinctive post-modern style, the attention-grabbing store-front features a triumphal arch above Josef Hoffman-style doors; the arch is somehow tribal and weapon-like and yet resolutely modernist in its purity of form, both primitive and sophisticated. The mix of materials and textures, humble and precious, both outside and inside the boutique, underlines the provocative element of contrast and contradictions, simple and sumptuous. Just as startling as the first, the boutique represents a dramatic departure from the traditional jeweller’s shop. Visitors are left in no doubt whatsoever that this is a temple of contemporary design; that Schullin jewellery belongs in the realm of modern art and architecture.
Herbert’s jewellery designs from the 1980s clearly show his preoccupation with pure form, shape and colour. Rings were monumental, linear, geometric compositions that subverted age-old conventions of band or bezel. They were conceived instead as angular architectural structures in gold: square, rectangular, rhomboid forms, often slightly twisted or skewed in subtle yet lyrical movement, and in which the opening for the finger became a design feature.
Like a Henry Moore sculpture, the open circle at the centre of the ring played with the overall silhouette, complementing and contrasting with perfectly positioned and proportioned lines, edges, planes and angles. One ring from these early years took the form of a curved arc, echoing the façade of the boutique, hinting at the shape and intent of a primitive weapon. Others were towering obelisks that stand upright and double as objects.
Herbert’s Schullin’s passion for the coloured gemstones that were to become a defining feature of the Schullin style is already clear to see; the rings of the 1980s offer up a delectable feast of colour, light and form. Most were set with a single imposing stone, its individual personality and immense presence underlined by innovative cut and shape – slender elongated oblongs, rectangular emerald cuts, square cuts, attenuated navettes or marquise cuts.
Their shapes and outlines are carefully plotted to interact with the forms of these miniature sculptures, to work as essential elements of concept and composition. Their unfolding facets and luminescence add a play of light and an otherworldly immateriality to the solid substance of the structures. Ingeniously, with a touch
CREST | COLLECTION
Rings with baguette-cut diamonds | gold
ABOVE
GOLDEN GATE ring with 33 baguette-cut diamonds, 6.65ct and a finely brushed surface | gold
RIGHT
AUREOLE collar with the intricately filed gold surface creating a satin-like look. The unique clasp opens and closes by friction and is not visible when closed. The open front is slightly curved on one edge and adorned with a large emerald-cut diamond.
“Many Schullin signature rings were set with a single imposing stone, its individual personality and immense presence underlined by innovative cut and shape – slender elongated oblongs, rectangular emerald cuts, square cuts, attenuated navettes or marquise cuts.”
(V. Becker)
TRANSFORMATION | NECKLACE
The rigid gold collar above is easily converted into a flexible necklace by opening and turning, as pictured on the right, thereby projecting the inner brilliant-cut set diamonds to the fore.
LEFT
“In the 'Tangerine' earrings, Herbert contemporised the tribal creole form, transforming it into a drop hoop earring, generously proportioned, voluptuously rounded, and smothered, with his usual reckless abandon, with yellow diamonds in different cuts, set to generate a sense of joyful movement, choreographing a mesmerising, high energy ritual dance.”
(V. Becker)
ABOVE
Diamond ring set, each piece overlapping three fingers | rosé gold and white gold
“The signs of a more narrative, emotive thread in Schullin design, figurative yet still highly stylised and abstracted, are perfectly reflected in Schullin’s gem-encrusted dragonfly or butterfly brooches, evocations of an awareness of the natural world that has been such a powerful 21st-century megatrend.“
(V. Becker)
VICHY | COLLECTION
A creation inspired by a traditional woven pattern. The 2150, black and white brilliantcut diamonds are perfectly placed side by side on the domed surface of the bangle and the ring.
EVOLUTION OF A TSAVORITE
A natural, rough crystal processed into a polished gemstone, evolving into a unique handcrafted ring
The original 38.5ct natural, rough crystal tsavorite from Tanzania
The faceted 13.21ct fancy-cut tsavorite
LEFT TO RIGHT
Lukas, Oriane, Herbert, Beate, Clara, Johannes Schullin
My mission is to show how, single-handedly and courageously, with commitment and conviction, Herbert Schullin developed a very personal, architectural, avant-garde style of contemporary jewellery. It was, and is still, a style that has elevated design and injected dynamism and innovation into our deeply traditional jewellery world. In this way Schullin jewellery takes its place in Vienna’s history of modernism in the field of the applied arts. (Vivienne Becker)
Printed in Bosnia and Herzegovina