2_2_DiscoverGermany_February15_Issue23:Scan Magazine 1

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Discover Germany | Design

Japanese samurai smithery made in Germany Exceptional jewellery and wedding rings forged by master hands since 1991. The award-winning Mokume Gane Damast Markus Eckardt goldsmith’s shop guarantees genuine handicraft and individual jewellery by using the special Mokume Gane technique. TEXT NANE STEINHOFF | PHOTOS: SYBILLE GLEIM-ECKARDT

“Our pieces of jewellery are highly individual – not only because of extraordinary design, but also because of very distinctive precious metal alloys and unique patterns,” Markus Eckardt says. The family business is located in Ensdorf, where Markus Eckardt and his wife Sybille Gleim-Eckardt specialise in creating exclusive products with the use of Mokume Gane smithery. Mokume Gane is Japanese for ‘wood grain in metal’and describes a 300-year-old unusual Japanese forging technology which is used to incorporate precious metals in several contrasting colours into extraordinary patterns. The jewellery is manufactured from a welded block, which consists of many different layers of thin precious

metal plates. “What is special is that we weld our own raw material blocks. This guarantees compositions and patterns, which aren’t available anywhere else,” Markus Eckardt says. Customers can pick their favourite pattern as well as determine colour, material, form, width, thickness and potential combinations with gemstones. The couple use

Dress like a legend Named after the iconic Porfirio Rubirosa, the Swiss label Rubirosa designs extraordinary quality gentleman’s shoes, accessories and skis. Every item is handmade to perfection in Italy, Portugal and Switzerland. TEXT TINA AWTANI | PHOTOS: RUBIROSA

The last grand gentleman, irresistable Latin lover, bon vivant – Porfirio Rubirosa was called many names, but it was his lavish lifestyle and impeccable sense of style that made him so very special. Hollywood goddesses like Ava Gardner or Marylin Monroe fell for his charms just like Tina Onassis or Eva Peron to name just a few. Once married

12 | Issue 23 | February 2015

to the richest women in the world, he graced the jet-set parties from the American West Coast to the slopes of the Swiss Alps. “I have always cared about clothes, and I will go to any length to look good, but the way Rubirosa dressed made me feel as if I’d fallen off the garbage truck,” Sammy Davis Jr. once famously said.

their own unique precious metal alloys, and in 2009 they were awarded the national prize for outstanding, innovative performance in craftsmanship for their ‘Mujodogane’ alloy. Offering comprehensive all-round services as gold and silver master smiths, gemstone specialists or hand engravers just to name a few, the manufacturer also offers special products such as chopsticks, bowls, paperclips or belt buckles. “Everything is possible,”Markus Eckardt concludes. www.mokume-saar.de

The brand Rubirosa pays tribute to the man, who is believed to have sparked the inspiration for Ian’s Fleming’s James Bond. ”The high quality products are appealing to the cosmopolitan gentlemen of all age groups, who are passionate about aesthetics and hold high expectations for themselves, their life and their peers. It is these core values, which our discerning customers rate very highly,”Flavio Agosti, co-founder and managing director says. Given the amazing product range available, it is hard to pick a favourite, but Agosti shares a little insider information:“An absolute must-have for 2015 is a pair of Ariza sneakers!” www.rubirosa.ch