Jewellery by Günter Wermekes
Stainless steel was once associated only with industry. But today it is just as commonly seen worn on the hands, arms, ears and neckline. Günter Wermekes was the first designer to design a collection based entirely on stainless steel. He also combined the metal with the most valuable mineral and created jewellery items with an exceptional character: stainless steel and brilliant-cut diamonds.
Solid yet delicate in appearance: stainless steel forms the bedrock, the foundations. The brilliant-cut diamond creates emotion and gives the jewellery item its sensual feel. Günter Wermekes concentrates on significant forms such as dots, lines, circles and squares. “They have been drowning out all trends ever since with the volume of silence”. The timeless jewellery is the perfect balance for any fashion.
Günter Wermekes loves experimentation and exceptional things: he creates sophisticated jewellery using rusting steel, wood and coloured gemstones. “Every material speaks its own language. The designer is only the translator who adds the final precise cut to this language”.
Individual works of art
Günter Wermekes designs and produces commission pieces for special awards
Special achievements are publicly recognised with special awards such as the presentation of trophies. Günter Wermekes designs and produces these awards in the form of small individual works of art which represent the spirit and creative vision of the client.
His works include award interpretations for companies, institutions and associations. One of his most famous works is the Red Dot Design Award ‘Best of the Best’. The sought-after trophy confirms the exceptional design of the winners’ works.
Successful and enduring
As a designer, Günter Wermekes designs a wide range of products for various renowned manufacturers. His clients include BMW and Rodenstock, for example. He also creates sophisticated accessories for car manufacturers and collections of exceptional designs with the highest level of functionality for the leading spectacle manufacturers. He creates elegant and impressive watches for Niessing and special door handles for TECNOLumen. In general, it is important to the designer that he produces designs which endure over a long period of time.
“I don’t follow trends,” says Wermekes. Instead he focuses on timelessness, longevity and sustainability – both in terms of the form and materials. “Today, in these times of ‘anything goes’, the connection with the material is often missing,” the designer explains. However material-appropriate products are an important factor for him. “Every material speaks its own language. The designer is only the translator who adds the final precise cut to this language,” Wermekes says. In product design, people are the yardstick, just like in architecture.
Timeless design – combinable with any table decoration
Günter Wermekes creates jewellery items from stainless steel. Whether in his ‘Stainless Steel and Brilliant-cut Diamonds’ collection or his ‘à table’ table accessories range: stainless steel is elegant. Stainless steel is timeless.
Günter Wermekes uses finely-finished round wire to create serviette rings, knife rests and card holders. “I draw on the specific charm of these minimalist forms and ensure that the flow of forces involved in the process remains visible,” says the designer, explaining what is important to him in the design.
Another convincing idea: the designer uses bevelling to create a serviette disc and eggcup from flat sheet metal. Günter Wermekes also avoids regrinding after shaping so that the work process remains visible. Along the edges, a sharp eye might notice the flow of forces involved in the shaping process. “For me, making this visible is part of the concept,” says Günter Wermekes. “It has a great deal to do with honesty, unwillingness to compromise and material righteousness”.
Before tackling each design, Günter Wermekes asks himself the question: how much design should there be? This approach, paired with the principle of material-appropriate design, leads to simple yet effective variations: for example, a rounded metal disc, three sticks and three screws are made into a candleholder, a vase or an eggcup.
The timelessness of the ‘à table’ accessories range means that it can be combined with any table decoration.
