Silversmith House of Jensen ready to open in Beijing
Georg Jensen, which has made refined modernist jewellery design its signature is well known in Hong Kong, but remains relatively unknown on the mainland
Big, bright, sparkling gems are not to everyone's taste. There are those who like their jewellery to transmit a subtler message, preferring the value to lie in their aesthetic composition rather than the carat weight of the gemstones used. This group of individuals is increasingly drawn to the work of the Copenhagen-based silversmith Georg Jensen, which has made refined modernist jewellery design its signature.
The Danish brand is well known in Hong Kong, but remains relatively unknown on the mainland, although that is about to change this week with the launch, during Beijing Design Week, of the first House of Jensen, a jewellery maison in the Chinese capital, near the Beijing Centre for the Arts.
The store, which will encompass jewellery, home silverware, a bespoke department, a restaurant and cafe, within a converted historic courtyard, is the brainchild of David Chu, CEO and creative director of Georg Jensen.
"It was incredibly important to create a completely new experience for our first store in China, as we are telling our story for the first time to the Chinese customer," says Chu. This opening, he says, is one of the biggest priorities since buying the jewellery brand with investment partner Investcorp in 2013. "I believe Scandinavian brands are relatively new to China, but the design language of Georg Jensen speaks to anyone who cares about beautiful, functional pieces."
The company was founded in 1904 by Jensen, who was renowned for his sculpted silverware, and especially his finely crafted art nouveau and art deco jewellery. When he died in 1935, Jensen was proclaimed to be "the greatest silversmith of the last 300 years" by the New York Herald Tribune.
It is all about the line and the design, and not about how many carats I can add
Over the decades, through artistic collaborations with designers and artisans, the company has gained recognition for its unique approach to fine jewellery. In the 1970s and '80s, Vivianna Torun defined the Georg Jensen aesthetic with a refined linear look, which was sparingly suspended with gem beads, and her iconic Vivianna wristwatch. Her designs remain part of the collection.