Dürer Wings
The Sunderland Collection x GRIMA
The Sunderland Collection and iconic jewellery house GRIMA present their second collaboration, Dürer Wings, inspired by the windheads in the Collection’s Map of the World as a Sphere (1515/1798) by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528).
Marrying the strengths of a world-class rare map collection and an exceptional jewellery brand, Dürer Wings speaks of a shared commitment to craft, heritage, and artistry.
The collection contains three limited edition earrings, and two unique pieces.
THE INSPIRATION
Dürer's map is an important early representation of the Earth created from a carved woodblock. This large and dynamic work is the first known printed illustration of the Earth as a three-dimensional orb. The Earth is surrounded by twelve wonderfully detailed windheads, each with unique characteristics and full of energy.
Arguably one of the most celebrated and influential artists of the Renaissance period, Dürer's engravings exhibit extraordinary technical skill and artistry.
All Photography © Bennie Curnow
LIMITED EDITIONS
The new handcrafted jewels comprise three pairs of earrings in textured gold with diamonds, textured platinum with diamonds, and platinum with pavé diamonds. Each pair is available in a strictly limited edition of six each.
UNIQUE PIECES
The collection also features two unique pieces: a pair of wing earrings in hand-carved frosted rock crystal and diamonds, and another in hand-carved black jade and diamonds set in platinum.
POA. To order, please contact arts@sunderland-collection.com.
View all the items from The Sunderland Collection x GRIMA in our shop.
ABOUT GRIMA
Andrew Grima’s iconic designs changed the way people perceived jewellery not just in Britain, but around the globe. Entirely self-taught, Andrew joined his father-in-law’s jewellery manufacturing business in 1946 and went on to become the only jeweller to be awarded the Duke of Edinburgh's Prize for Elegant Design.
His won with The Queen’s Award to Industry in its inaugural year, and the De Beers Diamonds International Award a record 11 times. Grima's work is held in the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths.
Since Andrew’s death in 2007, his wife Jojo and daughter Francesca have continued to create a limited collection of original, handmade pieces each year.
Find out more at grimajewellery.com
THE COLLABORATION
It’s an enormous pleasure for us to continue our first collaboration with a heritage collection. For the Dürer Wings pieces, we looked to textured gold and platinum which my father, Andrew Grima, preferred to the traditional polished metals that were fashionable in the late 1940s, when he was starting out. Inspired by his love of this technique, we used it to recreate the shading effect and beautiful details of Dürer’s drawings. We continue to be immensely inspired by the quality and history of The Sunderland Collection’s maps and atlases.
-Francesca Grima
Collaborating with visionary designers and master craftspeople like GRIMA is incredibly exciting... Dürer carved his map into a wooden block, creating an innovative, dynamic image of a spherical earth surrounded by individualised windheads. The map has only survived in a small number of copies. GRIMA has reflected this beautifully in these exquisite earrings: delicate surface texture, painstaking setting and carving, the round curve of the feathers…
-Helen Sunderland-Cohen
All photography © Bennie Curnow
