Beyond the star-studded campaign and dazzling new colourways, there are decades of design history to be discovered in Georg Jensen's newly unveiled Fusion collection
Georg Jensen’s emblematic Fusion ring was first designed almost 40 years ago. Beautifully engineered in an interlocking wave-shaped, modular form, the piece ushered in a new way of thinking in modern jewellery.
The visionary behind the ring was Nina Koppel, a textile design graduate of Denmark’s School of Arts and Crafts, whose father, Henning Koppel, is responsible for some of Georg Jensen’s most beloved mid-century pieces. Upon graduating, Nina created her own workshop, but in the 1980s, she decided to follow in her father’s footsteps by working for Georg Jensen.
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Nina Koppel at her workshop. Photo: Georg Jensen
It wasn't until 2000 that the ring design officially debuted as part of Georg Jensen's first-ever jewellery collection, quickly establishing itself as a timeless and sophisticated icon of the brand. It remains among the most popular of Georg Jensen's designs in production today – and is at the core of the brand's newly-released Fusion collection.
With the signature Koppel-designed wavy contour running throughout, the Fusion collection comprises earrings, necklaces, pendants, bracelets and, of course, rings – all meticulously crafted from 18-karat gold and detailed with intricate features. New for this collection, however, are the bold dashes of colour: green, blue, red and black.
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“Nina Koppel embraced the use of colour, evident in her vibrant textile designs,” says Ragnar Hjartarson, creative director at Georg Jensen. “Incorporating new hues into the ‘Fusion’ collection brings the ring one step closer to the designer who originally conceived it,” he says.
Incorporating new hues into the Fusion collection brings the ring one step closer to the designer who originally conceived it.
Ragnar Hjartarson, creative director at Georg Jensen
Adding colour was a painstaking process for the brand, with Georg Jensen Design Studio dedicating months to testing and discovering the optimal method to infuse colour. “We used a distinctive hybrid ceramic and polymer compound which our expert jewellers applied to the rings with meticulous attention to detail,” Hjartarson explains. “This intricate and time-consuming process demands the expertise of our most experienced jewellers.”
The launch of the colourful editions of the iconic ring is accompanied by a star-studded brand campaign. Captured by Dutch photographer Liv Liberg, the cast includes acclaimed supermodel Alek Wek, former Vogue Scandinavia cover star Count Nikolai of Monpezat, and star Chinese-born model Yilan Hua. “We wanted the campaign to fully embody this concept by featuring a cast of bold and interesting characters,” Hjartarson says. “Each member of the cast was chosen to reflect the unique nature of Fusion being a deeply personal piece of jewellery. Fusion is about expressing your personality, allowing the ring to be customised in countless ways and becoming an extension of oneself.”
The new Fusion designs are now available worldwide via Georg Jensen online.