Glittering at the Russian Court

The exhibition “Jewels! Glittering at the Russian Court” - opened last 14 September and running till 15 March 2020, at Museum Hermitage Amsterdam - gets us into the flamboyant of the Russian court in St Petersburg, presenting a glittering array of masterpieces belonging to the rich Russian jewellery history.

This very inspirational exhibition has driven contemporary designer Bibi van der Velden to the creation of Memento Mori ring: a beautiful, one-off piece, deserving to be looked at from all possible angles, which will be displayed in the same exhibition. The ring is designed as a parrot tulip in 18k yellow gold and sterling silver, whose petals glisten with Gemfields’ responsibly sourced Mozambican rubies and Zambian emeralds, alongside pavé tsavorites, dark pink sapphires, and white diamonds. “In my role as ambassador for the Hermitage Amsterdam exhibition I visited the awe-inspiring Winter Palace in St. Petersburg,” stated Bibi. “I was struck by how romantic assignations at the Russian court were crucial to the twists and turns of the royal family tree, and how they propelled the cycle of life. This Memento Mori ring represents the beauty of life and its inevitable decay, while the rubies nod to the opulence of the Russian court, with the green of the emeralds and the gold man hatching from the mammoth tusk egg symbolising new life, too.”