my thought bubble

FREY WILLE, or Amazingly Designed Jewelry

Usually when I am air traveling, I never pay attention to the airlines catalogs. The things they sell are expensive and not that special compared to what's in the real world. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. :)

One time though, flying from Bucharest to Vienna, after I reread the security booklet (I always read that, even though it's always the same. And never get up from my seatbelted chair during flight..), I flipped through their catalog, and I stopped breathing! I started jumping in my chair, clapping my hands in excitement. "When we get to Vienna, we need to go to this store and buy one of these bracelets!!!" "Sure!" says Mr. Mine.

I am not a 'jewelry" type of girl, really. I go through phases, but doesn't last me long. But what I saw in that catalog was impressive: the best designed bracelets I have ever seen in my life! The colors, the motifs, the shapes and color schemes, the originality of creativity...they all gave me a combination of feelings dominated by the "all fuzzy inside" one.

Turns out that these wonderful bracelets are made by FREY WILLE - a Viennese enamel jewellery manufacturer that was founded in 1951 and is world-renowned for producing unique enamel jewellery with focus on absolute art-historical authenticity.

Frey Wille's trendy and colorful collections are inspired by different historic periods of art, from ancient Greece to Egypt, and some of their designs represent an homage to famous artists, like Claude Monet, Alphonse Mucha, Gustav Klint, the presently featured one being inspired by one of the greatest Austrian artists of the 20th century: the painter, architect and philosopher Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

Each of the collections, besides being very attractive visually, have different meanings behind their creation. For example, the  Sphinx is "the embodiment of mankind's dream: to possess the power and graceful majesty of the lion and to be able to fly like an eagle, while having human intellect. For FREY WILLE it symbolizes creativity and the power to realize this creativity in developing unique pieces of jewelry".

Of course there has to be a downside to my story! We found the store. The jewelry were breathtaking, so beautifully designed and crafted. And then I saw the prices! Being handmade and unique, their prices are justified, but I couldn't afford at the time to get one. My favorite ones are the super-wide "Diva" bangles , and they are priced around $1,000.00. I would and pay that price, because the design is worth it, but maybe a little later, after I grow up! I am sure I will never stop wanting one.

I go back to their site regularly, and study their designs for a long time. I always find their color combination and motifs to be very inspiring. Definitely one of the few best designs I have seen so far.

Curious enough? Check out a few pictures, or go to the FREY WILLE website for a price shock! :)

This post was written as a part of Designer Daily's Design you Love group writing project.