Spotlight On: Hemmerle

The Hemmerle house of luxury jewelry is a family operated business that has been in the Hemmerle family for four generations. It was established in 1893 by Joseph and Anton Hemmerle while they made medals for the Royal Bavarian Court. The original boutique on Maximillianstrasse opened in 1904 where it still remains today.

Joseph’s grandson Stefen Hemmerle, his wife Sylveli along with son and daughter-in-law Christian and Yasmin are the force behind the brand and are involved in all aspects of the business.

One of the brand’s most iconic pieces is a unique, avant-garde ring for a prominent Munich art collector’s wife. She detested flashy jewelry, preferring to wear prized Berlin iron jewelry. The Germans were awarded the iron jewelry for their noble acts of donating their gold and silver to help fund the War of Liberation. Stefan fashioned the unorthodox piece of jewelry in 1995. It was a ring with a diamond set in textured iron. The unusual combination of a precious stone and common metal took Hemmerle in a new direction.

The team of Hemmerle designers use the rarest of gemstones such as green diamonds and conch pearls and set them in steel, copper and even wood. Over 500 hours often goes into making a single Hemmerle creation. The result is a bold and modern look.

The Hemmerle family loves to search for rare gems around the world for their designs. They have used everything from aquamarines mined in Brazil to Melo pearls from the South China Sea. Some of their signature styles include tassel earrings, which are made using an old Austrian knitting technique. The Hemmerle Harmony bangle is now a part of the William and Judith Bollinger Gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

The family published a book in 2011 entitled Delicious Jewells in collaboration with author and chef Tamasin Day-Lewis.