Drawing, Design for Bangle Bracelet, for Gebrüder Hemmerle

In the late 1980s, Stefan Hemmerle created the first designs for the Harmony Bangle, a bracelet that has since become the signature of the Hemmerle firm. In the Harmony Bangle, the open-ended form, a style of bracelet that can be traced back to ancient times, is distinctly modern. Each end of the bracelet is capped in gems or stones while the rounded forms serve to extend the fluid lines of the bracelet. A hidden closure mechanism embedded within the bracelet enables the seamless form. The Harmony Bangle’s simple, sophisticated silhouette has become the basis of decades of imaginative and seductive contrasts of materials.
In 1995, Stefan Hemmerle experienced the remarkable creative breakthrough that prompted him to begin pairing precious and semi-precious stones with surprising and provocative materials. This drawing, sketched in part by Hemmerle and completed by a member of his staff, illustrates one of the earliest examples of this irreverent but strikingly seductive combination. The bracelet’s form is comprised of two contrasting woods, ebony and snakewood. Set on either end are brilliant diamonds of different colors. This Harmony Bangle was among the first to feature Hemmerle’s innovative pivoting mechanism, further enhancing the seamless closure. Executed in ink wash, gouache, and watercolor, the drawing conveys the subtle differences in tone and texture that have become the distinctive signature of the Hemmerle firm.
This drawing is one of four Hemmerle drawings under consideration for acquisition. Together, the group would enhance the museum’s collection of jewelry design drawings.

Drawing, Design for Bangle Bracelet, for Gebrüder Hemmerle; Designed by Stefan Hemmerle (German, b. 1946); Germany; brush and black and brown ink, gouache, watercolor, and light shading under bracelet with glazing on tracing paper; 30.7 x 22.2 cm (12 1/16 x 8 3/4 in.); Gift of Hemmerle; 2012-23-3