52 jewellery

52 jewellery
da i ly n e w s
wednesday, march 25.2015
Rotondo Pavée bracelets from the Tubo line,
combining steel and diamonds.
Clear Lines,
Softly Rounded
Axel Scheffel,
Managing
Director of
Scheffel.
S c h e f f e l p r e s e n t s p e r f e c t ly
propor tioned jewellery in Basel
by A x e l H e n s e ld e r
O
wner and Managing
Director Axel Scheffel
explains how he creates
individualistic designs
that set his products
apart from mass-produced luxury goods.
BWDN: Among other new items at
Baselworld 2015, you’re also showing a
new Rivière collection. Could you tell
us about it, please?
Axel Scheffel: It’s a new interpretation
of a very conservative theme. Designs in
general are becoming smaller and more
filigreed, but we’re swimming against
the tide here with big, bold shapes that
give a new expressivity to rings and
bracelets. For example, we’re bringing
the tennis bracelet back where it originated: namely, as a sporty theme. Our
bracelet can be worn comfortably while
playing tennis.
How has the Rivière collection been
received?
We sold more than we expected. We
specifically use this show to get a feeling
for how the market will respond to our
new pieces. The positive feedback confirms that our interpretation of this
theme is absolutely on target.
To what degree is the Rivière’s formal
vocabulary typical for Scheffel?
Very clear lines are a characteristic of
Scheffel’s jewellery. But there’s also
always a certain rounded quality to
prevent them from looking too austere.
This means we’re never strictly geometric. We combine two essentially
opposing formal vocabularies to create
a very feminine expression. Our clientele associates us with perfectly proportioned designs.
You also offer the Tubo line in stainless
steel. Which target group responds to
this line?
This question does involve price levels.
We believe that there should also be
luxury in stainless steel: after all, stainless steel is also sometimes used for the
cases of luxury watches. It has to do
with the craftsmanship and the design.
And it also involves mixing steel with
other materials such as diamonds and
gold. Then the jewellery gets a very
high-quality appearance. And you can
sell a stainless-steel bangle for one third
of the price of a similar gold bangle.
The new Rivière collection by Scheffel showcases the sporty interpretation of a classic.
With such big and bold shapes, doesn’t
the jewellery become too costly?
Our jewellery isn’t a question of price
levels. We focus on very sporty designs
that can be worn in everyday situations.
After all, our subtitle is ‘Jewellery of
Today’. We can only achieve this by giving our jewellery somewhat more volume and by working in more massive
dimensions. Very few manufacturers
offer comparably sporty jewellery.
a fresh new look
fail-safe
Pfo r zheim pre sen t s i t sel f a s gol den,
m o d e r n a n d i n n o vat i v e
S a f e s i n s o p h i s t i c at e d I ta l i a n d e s i g n o f f e r
a s e c u r e h o m e f o r w at c h e s a n d j e w e l l e r y
by A x e l H e n s e ld e r
by Pia Grund-Ludwig
F
ollowing the successful trade show
appearances of the past, the Golden City has now brought a new
look to the communal stand at the leading global show for jewellery and watches
in Basel. In keeping with the stand, the
new graphic motif of the Pforzheim
pavilion has also been incorporated into
the newly published show booklet and
the advertisements for the Golden City.
Attention is drawn not only to the
altered design of the Pforzheim pavilion,
but also to two new exhibitors on the
stand – Laco Uhren and Staib. On a
stand area of over 200 square metres in
the Hall of Impressions, nine well-known
companies from the jewellery and watch
sector based in the Pforzheim economic
region are presenting themselves to the
international trade audience.
The nine co-exhibitors at the
Pforzheim pavilion and a further 40
exhibitors from the Pforzheim economic
region at Baselworld 2015 demonstrate
once again that the Golden City stands
for historic tradition, expertise, quality
and design.
The Golden City show concept has
been well received by the Pforzheimbased jewellery and watch companies. In
addition to an optically appealing show
concept, the pavilion also offers all-round
service and therefore lower organisational
requirements.
The Pforzheim pavilion is organised under the auspices of the municipal company Wirtschaft und Stadtmarketing Pforzheim (Economic and City
Marketing Pforzheim). Co-operation
partner for the project is the jewellery
and watch association Bundesverband
Schmuck + Uhren. The objective is to
position the Golden City as the German centre of excellence for jewellery
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and watches.
P
recious jewellery requires an appropriate ambience. This is provided
by Agresti of Florence, with safes in
the best traditions of Italian craftsmanship integrated into sophisticated pieces
of furniture, for the safekeeping of valuable watches and precious jewellery.
“We work with precious materials such
as luxury woods, gemstones and snakeskin,” says Paolo Agresti, describing the
philosophy of the family-run Italian
company. This makes it possible for
jewellery and watches to be stored
securely in the home and worn every
Do your customers tend to select individual pieces or do they buy entire collections?
In order to show a certain degree of competence with Scheffel’s products, our
customers usually buy two or more collections, sometimes opting for very dissimilar lines. Today’s women want to
combine their jewellery rather than owning jewellery that’s all in the same style.
But the individual pieces must nonetheless harmonise with one another. And
precisely that is the strength of our various collections: they’re united by the
2.1, F21
distinctive ‘Scheffel Look’.
day. It would be a pity if they were
locked in a bank deposit box and only
worn rarely as a consequence.
The safes are located in the cabinets and are completely invisible from
the outside: “Forget the classic concept
of a safe,” says Agresti. After all, wealthy
individuals have no desire to have a
lump of metal in their rooms. Instead,
customers receive an exclusive piece of
furniture that can be placed in any
room.
On display at the show are pieces in
materials including malachite, ebony
and red python skin. With the exception
of the watch winders, which are purchased from Swiss manufacturers, all
manufacturing is carried out in workshops in Florence, emphasises Agresti.
New to the range at the show is a
cabinet in polished ebony, the front of
which has a touch display. Integrated into
the cabinet, alongside the safe, is a computer with a webcam and the function of
triggering a police alarm in the event of
unauthorised access. All safes also have
biometric recognition systems, which are
discreetly concealed. These only allow
the safe to be opened when a finger is
2.2, D35
applied to them.