Hemmerle, the pearl of Munich

From their business headquarters, a house in the center of Munich, Yasmin and Christian Hemmerle extol the importance of having the right materials on hand when making jewelry. An emerald recently made the cut, as did a pair of rare conch pearls that had previously been Hemmerle’s possession. “My father bought and sold them maybe 25 or 28 years ago,” explains Christian, a fourth-generation jeweler, “but I was able to buy them back.” Now they are debating how to set the pearls. It’s a creative process that they don’t like to rush.

The husband and wife duo, who have run the family business since 2021 (they joined in 2006), often use unusual materials in their collections. These could include a mammoth tusk, or glazed earthenware pottery dating back to ancient Egypt, or pebbles that had turned up in the nearby Isar River. There are also diamonds in shades of grey, mud brown and petrol. Wood cuts (including olive, amaranth and some fossilized varieties) have also been the basic components of the house. jewelry. Just like antique cameos: a set by Roman carver Giuseppe Girometti, who completed portraits of Tsar Alexander I and King George IV, is the focal point of a new pair of Hemmerle earrings, which are paired with cream-colored diamonds and brown. cut diamonds.

The earrings were made to commemorate the company’s 130th anniversary, as was a minimalist bronze and white gold ring topped with a rainbow moonstone and a pair of deep blue Ceylon sapphire earrings tied in white gold bands at form of packages.

The last time Hemmerle celebrated a milestone birthday, in 2018, the family commemorated it with a collection of 11 pieces that reference his archives. But looking back on past achievements doesn’t come easy for the couple, who struggle with notions of legacy and retrospection. “We always try to live in the moment while looking forward,” says Christian, a trained diamond cutter and alumnus of the Gemological Institute of America. “I believe that an anniversary is always a time to celebrate, to look back, but not to auf den Loorbeeren zu sitzen [rest on one’s laurels].”

At Hemmerle, jewelry is not sold according to seasonal schedules; rather, new creations are grouped together when they are considered ready and presented at exhibitions, including TEFAF (The European Fine Arts Fair) in Maastricht and Manhattan or, next week, PAD London. “The accents we have throughout our history are not based on anniversaries, but on the moments we live,” says Yasmin.

Still, Hemmerle’s story makes for an inspiring narrative. Brothers Anton and Joseph Hemmerle founded the company in 1893, after acquiring an existing goldsmith’s shop that carried out commissions for the Bavarian royal court. Two years after the acquisition, Hemmerle received a Bavarian royal warrant and was appointed official “court supplier” by Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria in 1895. The company produced jeweled objects, military ornaments and medals, and since 1905 it has made the Maximilian Order of Bavaria, an award for outstanding achievements in the sciences or arts.

Since 1904, the only Hemmerle boutique in the world has been located on Munich’s Maximilianstrasse, one of the city’s four royal avenues, named after King Maximilian II of Bavaria.

Christian’s father, Stefan Hemmerle, joined the family in 1970. A trained goldsmith with experience gained in French, Italian and Danish workshops, he ushered in a new era, laying the foundations for a new stylistic vocabulary.

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The Hemmerle house has always experimented with materials. Stefan worked with iron, drawing inspiration from antique jewelry cast in 19th-century Berlin, when citizens were encouraged to donate their gold to aid the war effort during the Liberation War (1813-15). He is also the author of the Harmony open bracelet, a design that has become emblematic for Hemmerle and has inspired countless variations, carved in ebony or cast in copper. Elsewhere, the company has rediscovered traditional ways of manufacturing, such as the Austrian technique of weaving hand-cut and drilled gem beads onto silk.

“You learn through the past,” says Yasmin. “We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have all that behind us. It is to follow those steps that [Christian’s]
What our great-grandparents and grandparents went through gave us the platform to continue experimenting.” Christian continues: “A lot of things weren’t really planned. “A lot has happened, that’s Hemmerle’s secret.”

Today, Hemmerle employs around 50 people. Each Hemmerle jewel (prices are never revealed) is finished in-house, where a workshop staffs approximately 20 goldsmiths, setters and apprentices. The team, many of whom have worked with the family for years and even decades, finishes approximately 200 pieces per year; Each one is unique and can take up to 600 hours to complete. “We don’t set deadlines,” says Christian, “because it’s about building prototypes. How can you judge a prototype?

It is a way of working that has earned the affection of collectors. “The rarity of their pieces creates high and sustained demand,” says Jemima Chamberlain-Adams, a jewelry specialist at Sotheby’s in London. “But this enthusiasm around Hemmerle jewelry exists because of its high level of unhurried craftsmanship and artisanal excellence.” For Patrick Perrin, CEO and founder of PAD, the secret to Hemmerle’s success lies in the interweaving of past and present. “Her bold shapes, use of unconventional materials and instantly recognizable creations are steeped in a long jewelry tradition, but are also unparalleled in technique and storytelling,” he says.

Among the other pieces finished in time to present this year is a striking bracelet made from black-finished iron bands, worked to mimic the surface of single-strand pieces, gathered around a large 39.29-carat white diamond. “I always say that our jewelry should be worn and enjoyed,” says Yasmin. “It is supposed to be part of our collectors’ daily lives, to accompany them on their odyssey of life.”

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