Discover the Maggie & Rudi collection with AENEA’s Costan Eghiazarian
Once a year, the Wiener Staatsoper - aka the Vienna State Opera house - comes alive to celebrate the Vienna Opera Ball. For just a handful of days, the opera house is transformed into a glamorous gala, with celebrations that attract over 5,000 visitors from around the world.
Beguiled by outstanding opera and ballet performances, high-profile guests and Viennese debutantes dance long into the night at this dazzling social event. With the 2017 Vienna Opera Ball taking place on February 23, AENEA founder and creative director Costan Eghiazarian introduces the beautiful ballet-inspired Maggie & Rudi collection.
With its sweeping silhouettes, the collection is inspired by the magic and sincerity held between two of the world’s foremost ballet dancers, Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev.
Earrings Amethyst & Diamonds EUR 4.600
Ring Pink Tourmaline EUR 18.500
“I was researching male and female icons and they came to my attention — they were just such a breathtaking couple,” Costan explains. Reading more into the dance duo’s story, Costan was struck by the ways in which Nureyev spoke about Fonteyn, blurring the lines of their friendship and passion for dance: ‘We danced with one body one soul… For me Margot is my family, she is all I have.’
Ring Blue Tourmaline EUR 3.500
Despite their 19-year age difference, the two dancers established a close friendship and loyalty to one another. ‘At the end of Swan Lake, when she left the stage in her great white tutu, I would have followed her to the end of the world,’ Nureyev said.
“Completing further research into figuresque jewellery, I realised something like the Maggie & Rudi collection had never been made before,” Costan explains. “I always aim to be different with my designs, so it was clear that I needed to do something with their story.”
After Costan completed sketches of jewellery inspired by the dancers, he worked closely with a highly skilled wax carver to create the shapes of their bodies. It took almost two months to refine the very first designs in the collection. “With the gold bodies of each design, every detail is then hand engraved onto the actual piece,” Costan outlines. As a result, each piece shines with its own subtle personality.
Bangle White Diamonds EUR 17.200
AENEA’s Maggie & Rudi collection features vibrant gemstone rings, drop earrings and a statement diamond-set bangle. Each design features detailed miniatures of Nureyev and Fonteyn, gripping the gems as they leap in the air, their supple, curved golden bodies embracing the finger, ear or wrist. This dazzling collection is a fitting celebration of the beauty of ballet; perfect for galas such as the Vienna Opera Ball.
Ring Pink Tourmaline EUR 18.500
Ring Pink Tourmaline Cabochon EUR 3.700
“Maggie and Rudi is a collection that goes beyond expectations,” says Costan. “It is not only fun and wonderful to handcraft, but for me it is one of the deepest collections we have created, philosophically. This collection shows that love, affection and friendship go beyond anything. It’s about more than just two bodies — it’s the meeting of souls.”
Contact AENEA Jewellery to view to the Maggie & Rudi collection in person via our Travelling Jewellery Atelier, via personal appointment or in our Salzburg Showroom - the AENEA Atelier - atelier@aenea.com