Latest Bombay Sapphire crystal collection aims to benefit children with cleft palates
The stopper is crowned with sapphires and diamonds artistically set by world-renowned jeweller, Garrard. |
Recognised around the world as a major sponsor of various glass design projects, Bombay Sapphire has continually been supporting the inspirational works of international artists - especially in the glass industry - over the last two decades. The Bombay Sapphire Foundation was set up in 2001 with the aim of rewarding and promoting the outstanding achievements of artists, designers and architects working with glass and to highlight the work of emerging talents in contemporary design. Its active members include Ron Arad, Tom Dixon, Nicole Farhi, Thomas Heatherwick, Dan Klein and Nadja Swarovski.
Unveiled in March 2008, Bombay Sapphire's latest project, The Revelation, is a collaboration between a celebrated distiller, a prominent crystal polisher, a prestigious jeweller and a leading designer. The creation is both a masterpiece of the arts and a great contribution to charity.
Three of the world's top names in luxury and design - Baccarat, France's 250-year-old crystal maker, Garrard, the oldest jewellery house in the world and the designer of the crown jewels worn by Queen Victoria, and Karim Rachid, one of today's hottest designers - were invited to create The Revelation, an exquisite collection of five handmade crystal bottles that come with a million-dollar tag.
The entire collection of five bottles, valued at one million dollars, created huge interest amongst crystal collectors. |
Top designer, Karim Rachid (far right) is the brains behind the design of The Revelation. |
"My inspiration for The Revelation was to make a very limited, very exclusive bottle as a kind of luxurious art piece. It's a fascinating object that plays on the idea of sapphire but also the idea of infinite plains that reflect the space around you," said Karim Rachid.
The creation consists of three parts: the clear base, the blue bottle and the jewelled stopper. |
Rachid, one of the world's most acclaimed designers, has won numerous awards and covers a broad range of disciplines from space to fashion. He is currently one of the most active members of the Bombay Sapphire Foundation.
"It was extremely challenging to design the object in crystal from a technical perspective because there's only certain ways that you can actually produce crystal and also there's a lot of hand work in crystal. With the team of Baccarat we managed to get all the details to work beautifully," Rachid noted.
The exquisite bottles in the shape of a huge jewel with 10 principle facets are made of flawless Baccarat crystal. The clear base itself weighs 10 kilos and has a compartment that holds a second crystal piece in the colour of special Bombay Sapphire blue, which serves as the bottle. Each bottle is crowned with a stopper that is individually embellished with sapphires and diamonds on white and yellow gold set by Garrard.
With a price tag of $200,000 (6,250,000 baht), each bottle is securely displayed until May 27 at five major international airport locations including London Heathrow in the UK, New York JFK in the United States, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Changi in Singapore and Sydney in Australia.
Since the launch several weeks ago, a number of collectors from around the globe have expressed an interest in the pieces. Profits from sales of the bottles will benefit the Smile Train, a non-profit organisation which provides life-enhancing surgery for children with cleft lips and palates as well as cleft-related training for doctors and medical professionals in 71 developing countries, including Thailand.
According to a national medical report, every year between 1,000 and 1,500 babies are born with lip or palate defects. One in every 2,500 infants is born with cleft lips and one in every 600 with a cleft palate. If not treated properly, the defects may not only deform the face but also affect the child's hearing ability and language development due to hearing loss, attention deficit and learning disabilities.
Since March 2000, Smile Train has provided free cleft surgery for more than 300,000 children around the world. RT
Prev
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Next
