Zaha Hadid Designs Jewelry for Georg Jensen

Late architect Zaha Hadid.

“It was serendipity,” says Meeling Wong, managing director of jewelry at Georg Jensen, of the meeting of architect Zaha Hadid and Georg Jensen creative director David Chu. In 2014, Hadid and Chu were seated next to each other at the opening of Hadid’s Wangjing Soho Complex in Beijing. The two quickly began talking about their shared love of jewelry after Chu noticed the multiple rings and bangles that decorated Hadid’s hands and wrists. Fast-forward a few months: Hadid was in London, drawing up designs for the Danish jeweler, and now her vision comes to life in an eight-piece collection of sterling silver and black rhodium rings and cuff bracelets dusted with black diamonds.

Hadid's Galaxy Soho complex in Beijing.

Hadid and Georg Jensen’s connection went beyond a passion for jewelry, as they both have applied the free-flowing lines of nature to their designs, making the collaboration a no-brainer. “Nature has always been an inspiration for Zaha. If you look at her buildings, they all have very organic shapes, and she loved to create environments and structures that work with the natural surroundings.”

Cuffs for Georg Jensen.

The entire lineup plays on Hadid’s appreciation of nature and contains sensuous curves and a fluid rhythm reminiscent of her most famous feats, from the London Aquatics Centre to the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan. And perhaps the most evident similarity is the jewelry’s ribbon effect that mirrors the gilded metal of the Wangjing Soho Complex. “All the pieces have that distinct Zaha sweep,” says Wong. “She created architecture for the hand. The use of scale and material are the only distinctions. Instead of working with marble and concrete, she used silver and diamonds.”

Rings from the collection.

As a final addition, Hadid wanted to try her hand at her favorite metal and rendered the collection’s five rings in gold. She was unable, however, to see the gold finish come to fruition. Just days before Wong was to deliver the prototypes to Hadid’s office, she passed away. The gold designs are the architect’s last, and will debut two months after the original settings in December. “I remember she said she was very proud of the collection,” says Wong. “I think she would like nothing better than for us to show off her work.”

The sterling silver and black rhodium pieces are priced from $600 to $30,000 and are available at all Georg Jensen boutiques this month.