Lorenz Bäumer opens up his personal collection for auction at Sotheby’s Paris
Jewellery designer Lorenz Bäumer is opening up his personal collection of exquisite jewellery, important design pieces and contemporary photography for an auction at Sotheby’s Paris, running from 11-17 May, 2022.
Bäumer was for 20 years artistic director for Chanel, in time developing their Couture jewellery line, before launching the first jewellery line for Louis Vuitton in 2007. Today, he is the only independent jeweller nestled among the major houses in Paris’s Place Vendôme, a place where pieces from his collection are displayed alongside the jewels.
The collection
Lorenz Bäumer Collectionneur! offers a fascinating insight into the eclectic artworks with which Bäumer surrounds himself and the inspiration this serves for his own designs, among them ebony sculptures by Alexandre Noll, which in turn inspired Bäumer’s Black Magic jewellery collection. Themes of nature, mortality and landscape resonate throughout the sale, juxtaposed with steel pieces and industrial design.
Several of Bäumer’s own jewellery creations are highlighted, including the L’Île aux Trésors bracelet in titanium and white gold, inspired by the famous Robert Louis Stevenson novel ‘Treasure Island’.
It symbolises the quest for beauty, love and wealth, and contains a secret mechanism that opens to reveal a heart-shaped pendant (estimate: €10,000-€20,000).
In addition to his jewellery, his designs for the pieces, which have never previously left Bäumer’s studio are included in the sale.
Design highlights offered include functional steel pieces from the 1960s and 70s by Greek designer Philolaos including a sculptural steel TV stand (estimate: €20,000-€30,000). Works by iconic French furniture designer Jean Royère include a Flaque coffee table from 1948 (estimate €200,000-€300,000) and Antibes floor lamp (estimate: €100,000-€150,000).
And finally, the collection of photographs testifies to the friendships that Lorenz Bäumer forged with contemporary artists such as Vik Muniz, Jean-François Fortchantre and Laurence Demaison, whose work is also a source of inspiration for his own creations.
In Lorenz Bäumer’s own words: “I like to surround myself with day-to-day objects, above all, those which are like a collection of sources of inspiration: the faceted piece of furniture by Paul Evans which gave rise to the Mikado collection, the photos of tattoos that are found in the Good Girl Bad Girl collection set with tattooed diamonds that can be seen on many photos, and Noll, whose combination of ebony shades inspired me to create the Black Magic collection.”
