Lapponia jewellery belongs to the wide range of jewellery lots at Auctionhouse de Ruiter. During the auction many valuables are auctioned and customers can make a bid online and in the room. Lapponia jewellery is popular like many other Scandinavian countries.
Auctionhouse de Ruiter is always looking for special jewellery to auction. Lapponia is one of those Scandinavian brands with always unique and handmade jewellery. You may be playing with the thoughts of auctioning or possibly selling your Lapponia jewellery. We are certainly interested.
The appraisers will give you reliable advice and provide an appraisal value. Are you immediately enthusiastic? Then the auction conditions will be discussed with you and your Lamponia jewellery will be auctioned during the next auction.
Besides offering Lapponia jewellery, you can of course also bid on one of those beautiful lots. Perhaps you have an eye for multiple lots. You can view these lots during the viewing days. Register because then you are always up to date!
The start of Lapponia
Lapponia is a Finnish jewellery brand that is still relatively young. That is to say, not as old as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels or Boucheron . Yet jewellery such as bracelets, rings, necklaces and earrings are very popular worldwide and have even been seen in some famous films.
An enterprising silversmith and a talented artist who joined forces
The Lapponia story begins in 1960. Pekka Anttila , an entrepreneur / silversmith who likes to think big, started Lapponia and, like any other jeweller, produces traditional jewellery at the time. Anttila soon realized that the future was not in traditional jewellery. He realized that in order to be seen internationally, he needed to create something much more personal and unique. Something that would make the mouths fall open, as it were.
He had been following the artist and jewellery designer Björn Weckström for several years and was inspired by his unique designs. In 1963 he no longer hesitated and proposed to Weckström to work together, who said yes.
Indeed, Lapponia’s jewellery collection became less traditional and more exciting, and in 1965 the house felt well enough to compete in their first jewellery show. This was the International Jewellery Contest in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil.
Weckström decided to bring a unique piece and this became the golden chain ”Flowering Wall” which translated into Dutch means flower wall. This piece of jewellery won the Grand Prix and took the step to the first international fame. Incidentally, the home market suddenly became a lot more successful and the house was overloaded with requests.
Lapponia and celebrities
The Lapponia house worked hard and grew steadily as a result. In the early 1970s the house was ready to hire a designer and this became Poul Havgaard, a Danish designer and goldsmith. He too brought new ideas and revolutionary designs that made the house iconic and gave a boost to innovation in the jewellery world.
New collaborations were also sought with well-known artists such as Juhani Linnovaara who designed his first white gold jewellery collection for the house. But also sculptor Zoltan Popovits who designed a silver chess set for Lapponia.
Weckström himself naturally also remained active in the field of innovative design and at that time used silver and acrylic simultaneously in jewellery for the first time, which made him the first in the world. This was perceived as rather strange at first and there was little understanding for the designs.
However, this changed when in 1975 John Lennon appeared with Yoko Ono in a TV show where Ono wore a ring of this combination. The camera made a number of clear close ups of the ring and this created a great interest and demand for Lapponia’s jewellery that contained acrylic. It certainly wouldn’t be the last celebrity to wear Lapponia jewellery on the statue.
In 1977 there was another highlight for Lapponia when in the movie Star Wars the character Princess Leia was seen in the final scene with one of the silver Lapponia necklaces around her neck. Because of this scene, this necklace is by far the most popular piece of Lapponia to this day . The necklace is still in the Space Silver collection and is called the Planetoid Valleys Necklace.
A trip to watchmaking
Weckström wanted to go a step further and had the brave idea to design jewellery-like watches, something that was not often seen at the time. The watches had to match the unmistakable designs of the Lapponia jewellery and also have the modern almost revolutionary touch.
Weckström succeeded in that mission again and watchmaking became a new field that played the house well. Because they were already well noticed in terms of jewellery by celebrities, the house decided to ask actor David Hasselhoff to model for the watch ads. He did this and there are still many photos to be found of the actor posing with a Lapponia watch on his wrist.
The 80s to the present
In the eighties the house Lapponia was very strong and the name was now known to every lover of jewellery and watches. The house now had many high-quality jewellery stores all over the world with which they worked and a strong team of designers who always came up with surprising and beautiful creations.
In 1989 that team was strengthened again, this time with the French artist Christophe Burger, who was the first to release a collection of patinated gold. For 10 years there would be no new designers until 2002 when Pekka Hirvonen joined the team and started working with yellow gold.
Then a few years later from Tai-Wan master goldsmith Chao-Hsien Kuo joined the team. She was the first to design and make jewellery herself. In 2005 the house Lapponia was sold to Kalevala Jewellery, but it remained a brand on its own.
Lapponia still produces everything in the Finnish capital Helsinki today and only uses recycled gold. Of the silver jewellery they make, 70% of the silver is recycled and the other 30% comes from the Nordic mines. This coupled with a highly experienced team of goldsmiths ensures very high quality jewellery for 60 years.
Although Lapponia is still a young jewellery brand, we still see the pieces at various auctions around the world and there is a lot of interest in the brand among jewellery collectors and enthusiasts. Weckström , who is still active as a designer, has changed something in the jewellery world.
Space Silver collection from Lapponia
The Lapponia Space Silver collection is a line of jewellery made from silver in the style of Science Fiction. Necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings that could be worn hundreds of years in the future possibly on other planets.
This was Weckström’s idea when he designed the collection. The collection was therefore designed in 1969 when the first human went to the moon. This made Weckström think about the possibilities of space travel in the future and inspired the design of a jewellery collection in that sphere.
We see that even today the designs are incredibly futuristic with forms of a lunar landscape or asteroid that could float through the universe. Also, all pieces have names that refer to the universe such as the “Planetoid Valleys” necklace or the “Bridge to the Moon” bracelet.
The most special piece in this collection is of course the Planetoid Valleys necklace that was worn by the film character Princess Leia in the Science Fiction film Star Wars. This was in the year 1977 and is probably also a movie scene that everyone knows. The scene is at the end of the film as Princess Leia in a chic dress, and the conscious necklace around, awarding an award to Luke Skywalker and Han Solo for their services.
In 1976, Weckström received a phone call from the secretary of film director George Lucas, who was by the way completely unknown in Finland. It turned out that the director was looking for silver jewellery for a new film he was producing and Lucas had a special interest in Weckström ‘s designs.
The project seemed interesting to him, so he decided to start drawing and see if he could design something that would be appropriate. He succeeded in this and so in 1977 the necklace was worn in the film and added to the Space Silver collection. The chain consists of large silver square links that almost seem to be dented. The silver is also matte, which gives it a very Science Fiction-like style.
The Kuu Collection from Lapponia
The Kuu Collection from Lapponia is a jewellery collection consisting of earrings, necklaces and bracelets made exclusively from silver. The style has a very ” Nordic ” touch and the inspirations for this collection were also from the dark moon and the ” Nordic skies ” or the Northern sky.
The young designer Martin Bergström designed this collection and it was the first collection he designed for the house Lapponia. Bergström is not someone who traditionally comes from the jewellery world, but from the fashion and interior world. This made him very suitable for Lapponia because Lapponia does not like traditional and appreciates other views on design.
According to Bergström, The Kuu Collection is a kind of combination where natural shapes and modern fashion merge. The collection consists of all different pieces that can be combined in endless possibilities.
One of the most special pieces has to be the necklace. This looks like a C-shaped piece of tree bark with a bit more bark at the front than at the back. The opening of the C shape is closed with a silver chain. The necklace thus fits perfectly around the neck and suits very elegant clothing as well as something very casual.
Sielu collection from Lapponia
The Lapponia Sielu collection is a line of jewellery consisting of a pair of earrings, a necklace and a bracelet. However, one design of everything fits together so that it can be worn as a whole set.
The jewellery designed by Karim Rashid portrays our constant state of change. It shows the power to constantly adapt ourselves to a rapidly changing world and the willingness to see everything from different perspectives. The flowing and natural curves in the jewellery are inspired by the human body. So it must be an extension of the carrier itself. An example of human fantasy and its place in nature.
All jewellery in this collection is made exclusively from silver. The thick silver rectangular links of the chain flow so smoothly into each other that you would almost think it was all made in one piece. The bracelet and the set of earrings are made in one piece and take the same shapes as the necklace.
Lapponia jewellery from the Lapland Gold collection
The Lapponia Lapland Gold collection is a line of jewellery consisting of rings, earrings and necklaces. All pieces are of course mainly made of gold. The collection was designed by Lapponia from the very beginning; Björn Weckström.
Weckström was one of the first designers in the world to use sculpture-like techniques in jewellery design. For this collection, Weckström drew mainly inspiration from the raw lumps of gold found in Finnish Lapland.
One of the most special pieces is the Diamond Twig ring. The ring, which is seen as a classic of the house Lapponia , consists of matte gold that really comes from the raw gold nuggets of nature. The ring has also kept this shape which makes it very pure in style with a lot of texture. In 1974, the design was embellished by Weckström by attaching two cut diamonds set in platinum tubes.
Lapponia Ibis collection with silver jewellery
The Lapponia Ibis collection consists of just two pieces of jewellery. One necklace and a set of earrings that are both made of silver and of course match each other. The pieces are designed by renowned Lapponia designer Zoltan Popovits who has been active at the house for many years.
Popovits took inspiration from ancient Egypt. It was the sacred Ibis bird for the ancient Egyptians that inspired him and which we also see reflected in the design in an abstract way. The chain is made of slightly curved silver links that blend nicely into each other that you would almost think the chain consisted of one piece. On the front is a very abstract shape of the Ibis bird made entirely of silver. The earrings contain a silver curved bar which represents the beak of the ibis bird.
Lapponia Ciria collection
The Lapponia Ciria collection consists of three pieces of jewellery; a set of earrings, a bracelet and a necklace. All three are made of gold and designed by Lapponia designer Björn Weckström .
This collection is inspired by the night sky with its glittering stars. The name Ciria is therefore the fantasy name of the star Sirius.
The gold jewellery has a special texture that is somewhat reminiscent of tree bark, but this creates a kind of matte sparkle. In each link of the necklace and bracelet, three cut diamonds are placed on the side and in the earrings that consist of two square plates in the same structure, the three diamonds are placed on one side of the picture.
Of course the earrings, necklace and bracelet fit together perfectly and all of this can be worn at the same time.
Lapponia collections from other jewellery designers.
The house Lapponia has designed a few more collections such as Frozen Amethyst from Liesbeth Busman, Moonlit Eve from Taru Harmaala Chaloff and Winter Pearl from Mari Isopahkala. These collections are also worth a look.