A visit to the mecca of goldsmith tradition:

The Wempe Atelier in Schwäbisch Gmünd creates the BY KIM collection in accordance with the highest standards of fine craftsmanship.

The best things of all are generated by the clash of opposites, and this principle of creative conflict also applies to the art of making jewellery. As the first woman to sit at the helm, Kim-Eva Wempe has added a personal touch to the family company’s rich tradition with her jewellery collection BY KIM. She was determined to make the pieces in this collection, which bear her personal signet, not only modern but also flawlessly crafted. And that is why she set up her studio in a time-honoured company in a town famed for its goldsmiths, Schwäbisch Gmünd. There, she can count on the skills of master craftspeople with excellent training and many years of experience, who are proud of each piece of jewellery they create. To help create a collection that combines superb craftsmanship with the charm of novelty and aesthetic surprise, Kim-Eva Wempe looked for an outstanding collaborator with an unmistakable personal style and a strong artistic vision. And a stroke of luck brought her into contact with the French specialist Catherine Plouchard.

The two women share a very feminine sensibility and a determination to make each piece in the collection an individual work of art. Whenever it seems right to them, they fearlessly defy tradition and conventional ways of doing things. Happily, the specialists in Schwäbisch Gmünd have been delighted to accompany them on their voyage into new realms. Anyone who has looked over the shoulders of these two women as they work realises how inspiring their creative presence can be. After all, every piece of jewellery that passes through the hands of the goldsmiths, engravers and gem-setters is eventually worn by the two women themselves. Instead of issuing strict directions, they engage in an intricate process comprising suggestions, sketches, objective critiques, happy accidents and experiments — a process whose end result has been a series of masterpieces.

Catherine Plouchard worked in her profession for ten years in Italy before she came to Wempe. The mother of two daughters, she has a strong preference for basic shapes and an intuitive sense of sculptural forms that is very romantic. These qualities have often enabled her to successfully transform rare metals into strikingly original pieces of jewellery. Her bracelets and rings lack delicate ornamentation. Her language of form is direct, architectonic and endowed with a “sixth sense” of harmony and balance. “If the stone had been any higher or flatter,” she explains as she holds a BY KIM ring up to the light, “the whole effect would have been spoiled. In this respect, you could compare it to a church steeple.” Together with the workshop designer Mr. Rosmarion, she has created boldly complex forms such as the Zoom and the Enlacé, which are repeated in many variations — from rings to bracelets to necklaces. These forms are first created on her drawing pad and then at the computer.

Together with Plouchard’s colleague Anja Heiden, Kim- Eva Wempe strives to achieve ergonomic perfection in these products. Each one is repeatedly tried on — in the case of rings, this means the unavoidable “pull-on test” — in order to guarantee that the pieces are user-friendly and easy to wear. It is the harmonious counterpoint between their interesting texture and their supple lightness that gives the creations in the BY KIM collection that certain “something extra.” To give just one example, the jewellery designer’s favourite rings appear solid because of their cuboid shape, but she repeatedly altered the dimensions of the back of the rings so that they don’t pinch the wearers’ fingers. After all, one of the beprinciples behind the collection is to fully measure up to top-quality criteria, rather than drawing attention to itself by means of crude logo elements.

From the often copied Y-necklace to the cross-shaped pendant set with moonstones, the designers have aimed to create contemporary classics, tactile fetishes and understated visual treasures that are both timeless and unique. In the process, the designers address the customer’s requirements and draw inspiration from their personal predilections. A medallion that Kim-Eva Wempe wished to have for the photographs of her two children became the inspiration for the Wempe medallion, a sensuous flat oval, on the cover of which the owner’s initials can be engraved. For this purpose, Plouchard has developed a special Wempe signature consisting of letters that oscillate between cuneiform writing and Japanese brushstrokes. The letters are engraved in a rare metal. A similar calligraphy can be seen on the collection’s broad gold rings. Here, the designers decided to place the lettering on the outside of the rings. “Tempus fugit amor manet” (Time flies, but love endures) is the message they convey, and the truth of this motto is confirmed by a brilliant-cut diamond that glitters in place of the “o.”

It is a pure pleasure to watch the German-French design team at work. Jewels are handed back and forth as the team members discuss the effect the stones will have on the wearer’s complexion and judge the various possible combinations with a variety of gold alloys. As they do so, they concentrate on creating unobtrusive effects — not the beauty that immediately strikes the eye and tires the beholder all too soon, but the kind that works its magic over time. For the current highly polished line of gold jewellery, the gem specialist Sybille Abele-Ring shows moonstones in shades of grey and honey. The discussion focuses on the extent to which the colour palette should be allowed to stray into the blue range before it begins to clash with the rose tones of the gold settings. The team wants to create a seductive play of contrasts and a set of characteristics that correspond to the quiet self-confidence of modern women. Kim-Eva Wempe’s studio in Schwäbisch Gmünd began as an experiment, in the confident expectation that many sensitive spirits and experienced specialists would be drawn together by the creative work taking place there.

Catherine Plouchard realised a long time ago that she is on the same wavelength as the acrobats of detail in Schwäbisch Gmünd. She has her own way of expressing the successful cooperation of all concerned: “Everything that is good is obscured by the obvious” is the message on the bulletin board in her office. Because she is French, she says, she accepts the challenge of looking for the hitherto undiscovered, always chooses the complex solution rather than the simple one, and would never be happy doing a routine job. She is in her element in situations where she is beset by obstacles and every question remains open. That is why she appreciates the businesslike arguments with the studio’s goldsmiths, who are almost as impressed by her strong will as by her professional expertise. Kim-Eva Wempe’s enthusiasm creates an atmosphere in which the team’s broad range of personalities can thrive and work together. Her BY KIM signet, which hangs from each completed work, is not only a mark of the highest quality, but also a hidden message to its owner: The piece of jewellery you hold in your hand owes its existence to a passion for beauty and a desire for creative craftsmanship.