JOY TRILOGI
by Mette Colberg · Photografik print on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper · 60x80 cm · 2021 · KULSTOF ›
JOY TRILOGI
YELLOW . Yellow is the colour of joy and sunshine. The colour is generally also associated with happiness and energy. Together they represent enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, encouragement, and stimulation.
INTRODUCTION . In a time of great uncertainty and global change we felt there was an opportunity to embark on a collaboration not explored before. This would be the first time the world of fine art, extremely rare diamonds and fine jewellery has come together with the purpose of exploring the meaning of colour and human emotion across a number of different art forms. ’JOY’ the first exhibition of the ’Trilogy’ collaboration (JOY, HOPE & PASSION), in this first edition bringing together Gallery Christoffer Egelund, Diamwill, OLE LYNGGAARD COPENHAGEN and Mette Colberg.
”… A coloured diamond is a touchstone of the universe, a little something God created that a man can’t always fine – they are the last frontier of collectables …”
R. Winston 1986
PAUL CHIEVELEY-WILLIAMS . Paul established his first Diamond factory in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais – Brazil in 2001. His vision was to cut only natural coloured yellow, lime, pink and green diamonds sourced from South America. Over a few years he built up a team of Diamond cutters specialised in colour while inventing new cuts and techniques to enhance even further the beauty of these magnificent gems. In 2007 Paul moved to Antwerp and started procuring exciting rough from all over the world. Pinks from Argyle and fancy yellows from Namibia. In 2010 he opened his first factory in Hong Kong building a strong presence within the Asian market especially China and Japan. In 2015 Paul open his office in Manhattan office in New York. In 2017 he became a director of the NCDIA (Natural Colour Diamond Industry Association).
NICHOLAS MOLTKE . Nicholas from Copenhagen spent sixteen years with De Beers holding various positions both in London and Botswana. He was a rough valuator, rough diamond buyer and negotiator responsible for buying hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds from Russia, Canada and Africa. In his last leadership role as Vice President of Sales for De Beers he helped shape distribution, pricing and sales strategies for the group. And was responsible for selling and managing De Beers strategic customers. Nicholas has extensive knowledge of the entire diamond pipeline from mine to finger, is a Gemologist and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with Honours.
OLE LYNGGAARD COPENHAGEN . In 1963, goldsmith and designer Ole Lynggaard established OLE LYNGGAARD COPENHAGEN – a house of fine jewellery, which grew into a family-run business with the emerging talents of the founder’s closest relatives. Still creatively active and a member of the board, Ole Lynggaard has officially passed on the reins of the brand to his two children, Charlotte Lynggaard as Leading Designer and Creative Director and Søren Lynggaard as company CEO. The brand has expanded considerably since the early days. Nevertheless, the dedication to designing exquisitely crafted Danish fine jewellery remains the exact same. As Purveyor to the Royal Danish Court, every piece of jewellery from OLE LYNGGAARD COPENHAGEN is designed by father-daughter duo, Ole and Charlotte Lynggaard. Both designers take pride in taking the time necessary to perfect a piece of jewellery. Turning a creative idea into a unique piece of craftsmanship can be a time-consuming process. Some visions remain a dazzling dream in the creative corners of the designers’ minds for years before reaching their audience.
THE SOURCE . All fancy colour diamonds are quite rare. Only 1 in 10,000 diamonds will be natural fancy coloured. A large proportion of them are found in South Africa, but they also occur in other countries such as Angola, Borneo, Congo, Brazil, Namibia and Sierra Leone. The Diamwill sources very rare and expensive yellow diamonds through its partnership with Namdia. Here they purchase the rough stones directly from the source. Diamwill provides full transparency at every stage of the manufacturing process from rough to polished in-house in their factory in Antwerp.
CRAFTSMANSHIP . Antwerp, home of diamonds, is located on the banks of the river Scheldt. It all started when traders shipped diamonds found in India to Europe. Initially transported via Venice to the Port of Bruges, these precious gems started to arrive at the Port of Antwerp after Bruges became inaccessible. Antwerp earned its reputation as the world’s Diamond Capital because of its unparalleled craftsmanship. Its artisans were world leaders in polishing the rare rough stones into the brilliant gems we cherish today. Antwerp is the world’s leading diamond trade center, with more than 86% of all rough diamonds traded in the city and known for its expertise in polishing the largest, rarest and most expensive diamonds in the world. Diamwill has over the last 40 years developed industry leading capability in polishing extremely rare coloured diamonds. Their unique diamond cuts maximise the colour, scintillation and fire in each stone, thereby concentrating and enhancing its actual colour.
FANCY YELLOW DIAMONDS . Yellow colours are abundant in nature occurring in flowers, fruits, birds and various other things such as amber, butterflies, fish, insect, sand and minerals. Yellow occurs in rainbows, the strong midday sun, and in a full moon. Yellow is also known as a primary pigment colour. Various yellow colour tones can be obtained by mixing white or grey with yellow in different combinations. For instance, greenish yellow and green-yellow colours appear olive when their tone is darkened, and orangish yellow and orange – yellow colours appears brown as tone darkens. Therefore, yellow colours mainly only retain their true to character only in lighter tones, thus making fancy intense yellow diamonds so rare. In nature, yellow frequently mixes with other colours that are adjacent in three-dimensional colour space such as brown, orange, olive, green, and grey. Yellow is often spoken of as being a brilliant, cheerful, sunny, joyful and vivid colour. Yellow diamonds attribute their colour to the fact that nitrogen atoms have assembled themselves in the lattice in such a way that they absorb the blue light and hence the stones yellow colour. The colour name yellow has been a regular use since the sixth century. During this time period when mosaics reached their peak as an art form (circa 550 A.D.),
yellow was used to describe the warm and lustrous colours of metallic gold used in mosaics. In the diamond industry, yellow has a long literary history, with several references to yellow diamonds published during the 17th century. Four example, Jean Baptiste Tavernier, in his book The six voyages Jean Baptiste Tavernier (1676), remarked that ‘the colour of the Grand Duke of Tuscany’s diamond (137.27 carats) is similar to the colour of the citron fruit’. There are many other quotations concerning yellow diamonds sprinkled in older diamond literature: these refer common objects such as yellow flowers, yellow metals (golden), yellow soil (ochre) and yellow birds (canary). One of the most popular names associated with yellow diamond are cape yellow, here cape refers to the southernmost land mass in Africa, the Cape Province where diamonds of a pale yellow colour were found in the late 1800s. Since then, the colour term cape gradually became ingrained in the language of the diamond industry. By the midst of 20th-century cape yellow was used extensively as grading term to denote a range of pale yellow coloured diamonds from faint yellow through to light yellow. Today diamond experts mostly refer to fancy yellow diamonds as canary yellow diamonds. Fancy yellow diamonds are extremely rare.
KULSTOF ”… all the colour of flowers and foliage and even the blue sky and the glory of the sunset clouds, only last for a short time, and are subject to continual change, but the sheen and coloration of precious stones are the same to-day as they were thousands of years ago and will be for thousands of years to come. In a world of change, this permanence has a charm of its own and was early appreciated …”
G.F. Kunz 1913
KULSTOF · 2021 · 80x80 cm · Photografik print on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper · by Mette Colberg
KULSTOF . Kulstof is a series of photographs shot through three rare diamonds. The diamonds have different cuts and characters and filter and reflect light in their own unique way. This creates a variety of nuances and shapes which adds a sense of depth and layers to the photographs. By using the diamonds as lenses, Colberg manages to capture the inner world of the diamonds and suggests that the true magic of the diamonds lies within the material rather than on the surface. The photographs are windows into a pre-historic material and takes the viewer on a time travel – from outer space to the mantle of the Earth. The title Kulstof (carbon) reflects on the diamond as an element and as a shapeshifting matter whose spectrum holds both the precious diamond and the everyday graphite.
A TRINITY OF RARE AND PRECIOUS YELLOW DIAMONDS . Each of these magnificent coloured diamonds has been mounted in a unique creation, designed by our Creative Director and Lead Designer Charlotte Lynggaard & our Founder and Designer Ole Lynggaard. The three designs represent our core values; uniqueness, passion and quality. All rings are crafted with a spirit of merging the nature’s finest resources with our craftsmanship and Scandinavian heritage. The trio of statement rings is the natural continuum and part of the same expression of designs and shapes currently existing in our jewellery collections.
TURNING IDEAS INTO SHAPES . To capture Charlotte and Ole Lynggaard’s ideas and turn them into three-dimension models is a long and challenging process. Charlotte and Ole Lynggaard work closely together with their highly skilled staff in handcrafting their unique designs. Sketches and models are constantly studied and explored, and with a true craftsman’s dedication and skill, the designs come to life.
NATURE SOLITAIRE by Charlotte Lynggaard . Nature Solitaire transports you to the majestic aesthetics of the forest, inspired by textures and contours of living, growing materials. This piece was inspired by fine jewellery of the 1920’s, where the satinised gold surface was very fashionable. This piece depicts sculptural, intertwining twigs and white diamond details. The Nature Solitaire Ring is set with a Fancy Intense Yellow, pear shaped diamond, 5.02 carats, clarity SI-1 and five small white diamonds totalling 0.02ct. TW/VS. Fashioned in 18 karat yellow gold.
‹ KULSTOF · 2021 · 60x80 cm · Photografik print on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper · by Mette Colberg
LOVE BAND by Charlotte Lynggaard . The Love Band Solitaire Ring represents the classical and traditional elements of sentimental and romantic jewellery: delicate silhouettes, dazzling pavé design, and curved lines. The ring salutes the art and innate feeling of love with a slender double-band design, diamond-led style crafted meticulously pavéd with white diamonds. The Love Band Solitaire Ring is set with a Fancy Yellow, pear shaped diamond, 5.03 carats, clarity SI-1. Accented by 128 small white diamonds totalling 0.50ct. TW/VS. Fashioned in 18 karat yellow gold.
by Mette Colberg · Photografik print on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper · 60x80 cm · 2021 · KULSTOF ›
OLE 2020 SOLITAIRE by Ole Lynggaard . The OLE 2020 Solitaire Ring originates from our archives. It draws inspiration from the metropolis architecture, innovated by modern architects such as Jørn Utzon, Le Corbusier and Arne Jacobson, and the Art Deco period. Bringing strict symmetrical cuts like emerald and baguette, fused in a duo of bi-colour metals, Ole has created a mesmerizing, sculptural trophy piece of jewellery. The OLE 2020 Solitaire Ring is set with a Fancy Vivid Yellow, emerald cut diamond, 5.00 carats, clarity VVS-1. Below the prong is mounted with two baguette white diamonds totalling 0.50ct. TW/VS. Fashioned in 18 karat yellow and white gold.
‹ KULSTOF · 2021 · 60x80 cm · Photografik print on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper · by Mette Colberg
METTE COLBERG . Mette Colberg (b. 1981) is educated from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Art, School of Design on Bornholm, Denmark and Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts & Design, Stockholm, Sweden. Colberg’s work explores transparency from both a material and an immaterial point of view. Her curiosity revolves around the paradox of transparent glass and the simultaneous absence and presence of the material, which gives it the potential to transcend spaces and alter perspectives. With an urge to explore the concepts of transparency and perception through handcrafted glass lenses and photography, Colberg’s work unfolds as abstract photographic and sculptural compositions of fractured multiple viewpoints. It suggests an alternative logic and offers the viewer a room for reflection on one’s own perspective and context. Colberg’s works have been exhibited nationally and internationally since 2006 and she was selected to represent Denmark at European Glass Context in 2016 and 2021. In 2013 she held a talk on transparency at the annual TEDxCopenhagen at Bremen Teater in Copenhagen.
Photo: Kirstine Autzen
Portrait photo: Kristine Fryd · Courtesy: Galleri Christoffer Egelund
GALLERI CHRISTOFFER EGELUND . Galleri Christoffer Egelund is a cutting-edge art gallery focusing on high quality Scandinavian and international contemporary art. An experimental and innovative approach is an important agenda in order to constantly challenge the boundaries of the gallery and the art scene itself. The gallery exhibits artworks with a large variety of media e.g. works on paper, photos, paintings, sculptures, performance and video – a unique artistic expression is of most importance. Galleri Christoffer Egelund was established in 2005 by the owner and director Christoffer M. Egelund who has a long career working professionally as international art dealer, curator and artist talent scout. With more than 16 years of experience on the international art scene working with some of the best emerging contemporary artists, Galleri Christoffer Egelund is now one of the most renown galleries in Denmark. Working close together with Diamwill and Ole Lynggaard, it was a pleasure for Christoffer Egelund to invite the emerging material-based artist Mette Colberg to work on transforming the beautiful yellow diamonds into her art. As curator Christoffer Egelund is amazed by Mette Colberg’s talent as material-based artist, being able to put insight on raw materials, opening up a whole new dimension of diamonds through an artist’s lens is a stunning experience for the viewer.
‹ KULSTOF · 2021 · 60x80 cm · Photografik print on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper · by Mette Colberg
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