Emeralds for Elephants, the auction organised in aid of the World Land Trust’s Indian Elephant Corridor project, caused quite a storm in a very steamy Selfridges Wonder Room on the 23rd of June. Hosted by Mark Shand, Andrea Dellal and supported by the indian cricket player Yuvraj Singh Sotheby’s auctioned off the first elephant that have been seen all around London druing the parade. The Emerald Queen, a life-size elephant designed by Sabine Roemer using Gemfields Zambian emeralds, was sold to an anonymous bidder for a whopping £150,000!
The World Land Trust, Gemfields and bespoke jeweller, Sabine Roemer have collaborated to create an extraordinary life size, Emerald Elephant set to be the most valuable design in this summers hotly anticipated Elephant Parade and has been aptly named, ‘Emerald Queen’. Sabine has designed and decorated this fibreglass elephant with emerald dust and a staggering 678carat oval emerald that is the outstanding centrepiece of the elephants’ jewellery headpiece.
This Gemfields emerald has followed an ethical and traceable route from the Gemfields mine in Zambia, to Jaipur where the gem was cut by hand and then shipped to London to be set by Sabine. Gemfields strict ethical and environmental policies combined with the conservation achievements of the World Land Trust will make this emerald design the greenest in every sense of the word!
The World Land Trust / Sabine Roemer/ Gemfields , Emerald Queen is part of the Elephant Family’s, Elephant Parade, where 260 elephants will take to the streets of London from May to July 2010. Billed as the capitals largest public art exhibition, the Elephant Parade will embrace all that is excellent about London when Sotheby’s auction each of the elephants to raise crucial funds for the critically endangered Asian elephant. Proceeds raised by the Green Queen will go to the Elephant Family and World Land Trust and with Sabine Roemer’s track record this is expected to be a significant amount. Sabine Roemer designs are becoming highly sought after and her last jewelled sculpture was bought at the Mandela Day auction in New York by Morgan Freeman.
The Elephant Family is the largest elephant charity in the world and founded by Mike and Marc Spits. The parade was brought to London by Mark Schand and has amazing support by their Trustees and Patrons like Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, Goldie Hawn, Sir George Martin CBE, Sarah, Duchess of York, Tanaz Dizadj, Priya and Cyrus Vandrevala, Caroline Casey, Lorin Gresser, Ashwan Khanna, Patrick Mark.
The elephant parade launched on Trafalgar Square in London, May 4, 2010.
The life-size model herd was led by Mark Shand, trustee of Elephant Family, a charity that helps safeguard Asian elephants and enables a more harmonious environment between man and creature.
The charity commissioned an impressive array of talent to produce 260 hand-painted elephant artworks that have now taken up residence all over London. Among the creators were artists Mark Quinn, Sabine Roemer, Jack Vettriano, and Sacha Jafri; designers Julien MacDonald, Diane von Furstenberg, John Rocha, Alice Temperley, Lulu Guinness, Nina Campbell, and Nicky Haslam; and iconic photographer Peter Beard.
Selfridges has given this Emerald Elephant by Sabine Roemer royal treatment in the Wonder Room, where it will reside from 5th May to July 2010.
No longer able to survive off the land alone the Bushmen have turned to traditional jewellery making to help ensure their survival. On this trip Sabine Roemer collaborated on a collection together sharing our skill sets and teaching each other about our different ways of working. The jewellery is created out of ostrich egg shells that they have been making for countless generations,.
Largely isolated from the outside world until the last century they created intricate pieces using wild seeds, sticks, bone, leather, tortoiseshell and most importantly of all, beads painstakingly created from ostrich egg-shell each handmade. The Bushmen are almost as old as time itself. These gentle people have existed in harmony with the animals and nature of their native Kalahari for countless generations. Their simple, honest ways are today under peril from the unyielding tide of modern progress which threatens the only life they have ever known. Often victimised by their more powerful neighbours and dispossessed of their lands the 100,000 San in southern Africa are amongst the poorest and most disenfranchised of southern Africa’s people.
They battle with extreme poverty and the ravages of AIDS on a daily basis and are largely dependent on the handouts. The talented photographer, Boo George created the most beautiful images of a young Bushman girl modeling the collection in the Desert of the Kalahari.
Rising Gems is a unique collaboration between 10 of the UK’s most innovative and young jewellery designers who created a one-off ‘Rising Gems collection’ in celebration of Coutts London Jewellery Week 2009, sponsored by ENLIGHTENED™ – Swarovski Elements, and showcased exclusively between 8th-14th June 2009 in the new Jewellery Room at LIBERTY .Each designer’s creation has been inspired by a different worldwide project of UK conservation charity the World Land Trust. Fighting to protect critically endangered habitats around the world, the Trust’s projects range from the elephant corridors of India to a coral reef project .
“I have been enormously inspired by the progress of the World Land Trust in halting some of the destruction of the world’s wild places. WLT gives absolutely everyone an opportunity to get involved and take personal responsibility in a really positive way.” – Sir David Attenborough OM CH FRS, Patron, World Land Trust
XXXX Magazine is a conceptual film, fashion and contemporary art virtual online “magazine” showcasing multimedia based productions.
KALEIDOSCOPIC BEAUTY
3000 A.D.
2:30 minute short multi-media film featuring the “Object D’Art” of jeweler Sabine Roemer underwater
DIRECTED by INDIRA CESARINE
FEATURING JEWELRY by SABINE ROEMER
STARRING 101 POISSON
ORIGINAL MUSIC ‘OUT OF BODY” by EDWARD JAHN
A collaboration with Fashion House Ralph and Russo led to providing some handmade snake chain straps with sparkling crystals for their Spring 2008 Couture Collection.
The handmade straps were inspired by the company’s love of exotic prints and quality details.
A collaboration with Racer X Designs lead to creating custom pieces for Formula One, by using original raced car parts.
Driver: Fernando Alonso
Race: Interlagos
Position: 3
Chassis #: R25-07
Part # NT-R24-078B
Rear Damper Top Eye Locknut
Set in 18ct white gold on a platinum chain incorporating
16 diamonds and 13 sapphires
The Renault F1 Team confirm that these parts used in this design originated from the race car of Fernando Alonso in the Brazilian Grand Prix September 25, 2006 winning the 2005 Driver’s Formula One World Championship.
