Giovanni Raspini launches limited edition Babylon collection

Giovanni Raspini has launched its new limited edition Babylon collection inspired by the Art Deco movement of the 1920s and 1930s with the “forms and allure of the animalier world”.

Babylon is crafted from silver using the traditional lost-wax casting technique, which is a hallmark of the brand and includes large, bright zircons.

The collection, made up of only 100 pieces for each creation, is divided into three designs that are “stylistically distinct but complementarity”.

The three designs include the Crocodile Palace necklace, the Leopard Empire jewellery set and the Lion Astoria jewellery set all made in burnished silver.

The Crocodile Palace necklace combines the reptile’s burnished silver textures with inserts that recall Art Deco architectural motifs.

Hanging as a pendant, a transparent baguette cut zircon is surmounted by a small crocodile wrapped around the stone.

Meanwhile, the Leopard Empire jewellery set comprises three coordinated pieces: a bracelet, earrings and a ring, with large squared and baguette cut zircons.

Lastly, the Lion Astoria jewellery set consists of a statement necklace and two earrings, all featuring squared cut zircons.

For this jewel, the designer chose an “anti-naturalistic” stylistic approach.

In the design, the lion becomes almost a “protome of the deco-stylized feline motif”, with a solidly outlined graphic mane.

Giovanni Raspini said: “I’ve always been fascinated by Art Deco, the movement that began with the famous Parisian salon of 1925. But what I like is the veritable explosion of motifs that the new style brought about over a twenty-year period throughout our world.

“The creative energy of those years seemed almost uncontainable: a new Babylon of expression, no less. It was a really stimulating period: after the Great Depression of 1929, life blossomed again with great dynamism, confidence in the future and a great desire to build and achieve.”

He added: “In the United States, Déco had a huge influence on architecture, furniture styles, and industrial and automotive design. The era generated Novels such as Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby, architectural masterpieces such as the Chrysler Building in New York, the powerful pictorial art of Baroness Tamara de Lempicka, and even the 1931 Airstream travel trailer with its aluminium construction and ultra-modern sinuous lines.”