Baselworld 2018: Stenzhorn to present their exquisite new Sakura collection

As the 2018 Baselword jewellery and watch exhibition approaches, participants are preparing new collections and individual novelties that will delight and surprise the discerning audience of buyers, private collectors and press. I am already actively planning my reviews, and I want to tell you about a completely new collection by the German company Stenzhorn.

The term ‘Sakura’ is used in Japan, Korea and China to describe the Cherry Blossom’s pink tones symbolising the onset of spring, the awakening of nature, the beginning of life, as well as life’s fleetingness and impermanence; unfortunately, the bloom of cherry blossoms is very fleeting. A gust of wind or rain and the delicate flowers could fall to the ground before they’ve even had the chance to fully blossom, covering everything with a dappled pink carpet. However, according to ancient Japanese legend, admiring the cherry blossoms has the potential to extend one’s life to 100 years.

This beautiful flower and its equally beautiful legend inspired the founder of the company, Klaus Stenzhorn – alongside the brand’s chief designer Anna Strarosti – to continue its tradition of creating jewelled flowers. As you may recall, in 2016 the high jewellery art collection ‘The Noble Ones’ was comprised of four necklaces with the flowers that symbolise the seasons in Chinese culture – the orchid in the spring, the bamboo in the summer, the chrysanthemum in the autumn, and the plum blossom in the winter. In 2017, this ‘bouquet’ was supplemented by two highly artistic necklaces with scarlet and snow-white roses from the capsule collection ‘Snow White and Rose Red’.

The new Sakura line opens with two ‘blooming’ necklaces as highlight of the collection – one is encrusted with pavé-set gemstones, and the other is decorated with gems using the brand’s favourite technique, invisible setting. However, new pieces are soon to be unveiled: bracelets, pendants and earrings with pavé-set gemstones which are suitable for both special occasions and the quotidian.

We decided to design and represent the cherry blossom flower in a shape of a cup, as it symbolises life and the glorious way of living it. – Anna Strarosti

When you view the new pieces, what immediately strikes you is the white, pink and red colour palette of diamonds, rubies and pink sapphires. According to the company’s chief designer, Stenzhorn likes to create ornaments with rich shades that have perfectly matched stones. “This is why we chose Burmese rubies to embellish the jewels of the Sakura collection, as in our opinion the pink tones hidden inside Burmese rubies are just perfect to give life to the cherry blossom petals.”

Anna Strarosti explained that initially she had wanted to present colour graduated flowers in invisible setting, along with the beautiful shades of pink obtained in the pave’ set jewels, but that would have been impossible, consider the relatively small size of the cups. To create a smooth gradient of colour, the golden surface was too small, but – as usual – it was possible to create a continuous sparkling mosaic with the placement of the stones.

“For our diamond jewellery in invisible setting, we always prefer square carré diamonds, which look like ice cubes. Unlike princess-cut stones, they have more delineated facets, allowing us to see how one stone is tightly fastened next to the other, for an appreciation of the complexity of the jewellery technique,” says Klaus Stenzhorn.

The beauty and depth of the jewellery in the ‘Sakura’ collection is not revealed all at once, just like Eastern wisdom. Look closely; the voluminous and smooth outlines of the flowers are perfectly enveloped from front to back. Here it is – true mastery embodied in perfection of form.