Fidelity, The Golden Fleece ring

Because I really like this piece, an update on the previous Furry ring-post, since The Golden Fleece ring will be exhibited from tomorrow! It al started when Giovanni Corvaja went on a journey to make the mythological Golden Fleece, instead of searching for it. A journey which required kilometers of hand-made gold wire, took 12 years of precise labour and resulted in great jewelry along the way (as to be seen in the Furry ring). Not an easy task as you can imagine. The Golden Fleece is sought after because it is said to bring good luck to kings and guarantees that their kingdom will endure forever.
This Ring was made in 2008 and consists of 104,272 single wires (2.085 km of wire in total). The tiny wires must be almost microscopicaly thin to create such length and still fit around a finger! This means the gold fur is super soft to touch. The ring symbolizes fidelity, something a lot of rings do, but the combination with the Golden Fleece makes this ring the symbol of a lucky, everything enduring love. This ring combines the aesthetic with the tactile and the conceptual, which I love.

Giovanni Corvaja has made a whole Golden Fleece collection and the jewelry pieces have all been chosen to represent eternal symbols: first there is fecundity (the egg pendant), then prosperity (the round brooch),fidelity (the ring) is the third piece of this collection, commitment (the bracelet) the fourth and finally strength and perpetuity of power (the headpiece). All of these have many other meanings as well. Of course these amazing pieces will be exhibited tomorrow as well.

The exhibition is part of the International Trade Fair,in Munich, Germany, in the frame of a special exhibition “Modern Masters”, Hall 1A, 11-17.03.2009. (Exhibiting the new collection in Munich is very meaningful for the artist, who celebrates 20 years since his first exhibition in the same place, in 1989.)

An extensive explanation of the whole Golden Fleece collection is to be found on Gionvanni Corvaja's website.

The Furry ring

An amazing piece of jewelry this week! It is this stunning Furry ring, a simple shape with a soft furry center completely out of gold. It has been created by Giovanni Corvaja in 2001. The ring is an impressive piece and it is an important step towards a his new series named the Golden Fleece collection.

Giovanni Corvaja started this new collection to satisfy his need to search for the mythological Golden Fleece. Instead of keeping to look for it, he decided to actually make it himself. After working very hard at his life's philosophy for 12 years, he has now succeeded.
He regards his success to have made the Golden Fleece as a journey, not as a destination. He managed to make great pieces of jewelry on that journey, like the Furry ring. I am quite anxious to touch it, since the gold really looks like fur! I am so glad he kept on doing research to get to a totally new level of golden fur. The pieces of the Golden Fleece collection are said to be strikingly soft to touch. Caressing one would give you the amazing sensation of touching a kitten. The Golden Fleece itself also looks much finer. These are unexpected, unbelievable differences between the Furry ring and the pieces of the new collection.

Until the 27th of December the Furry ring can be seen at Galerie Bijouterie Jungblut in Luxemburg (city), Luxemburg; as a part of the exhibition Jacqueline Ryan and Giovanni Corvaja.

In the spring of 2009 the preliminary collection of 5 pieces, also containing a ring; will be presented to the public for the first time in Munich, Germany at a special exhibition of Modern Masters. So in three months you can expect an update of this collection (with photographs) on this blog!

Much much more about this incredible Golden Fleece and its Italian creator can be read here.