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The next year can only get better.

As 2020 is drawing to a close, everyone agrees on this for once.

And indeed, glimmers of hope are noticeable on the horizon.

But maybe also a little romantic longing.

After all, nobody really knows what may come in the end.

The Pforzheim goldsmith Wellendorff thought about a suitable motto for the coming year last April.

At this time the development of the new annual ring was due, especially during the first lockdown.

“We pushed all other ideas aside and concentrated on this topic,” says Claudia Wellendorff.

Since 1997, the family company has dedicated a limited-edition ring with a symbolic message every year.

Its edition is always based on the year, in 2021 there will be 221 rings that are handcrafted by the manufactory and only made to order.

Thus, each of the pieces of jewelry is unique and has an engraving with its number, the name of the wearer and is already the right size.

The annual rings are handcrafted by the manufactory and only made to order

Source: Wellendorff

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Limitation is a popular marketing tool in the jewelry industry.

Brands like Cartier, Niessing or Van Cleef & Arpels also work with the principle of scarcity to create desires.

But which conditions must be met for the piece of jewelery to become a collector's item?

At Wellendorff, it is primarily the characteristic details that can be found in the annual rings, as well as in the other pieces of jewelry, and which make each one recognizable as one from the Wellendorff company: the iconic gold cord that forms a frame along the ring rails, one in rotating construction, the combination of 18-carat yellow gold and cold enamel, which is applied in several layers, as well as the golden W, the company's logo, crowned by a diamond.

In addition, thanks to the year incorporated into the design, the annual rings are contemporary witnesses of history or personal fate.

"Together they can be read like a book, something that inspires collectors and connoisseurs from all over the world," says Wellendorff.

In addition, you do a lot to celebrate the exclusivity that such a piece of jewelery brings with it.

“With the purchase of an annual ring, you also get the privilege of reserving your number again for the next year.

The annual ring can only be purchased by others when a customer releases his number. "

A curved wave of hand-set diamonds is supposed to symbolize the ups and downs of life

Source: Wellendorff

And that seems to be working: The annual rings are now so popular that they can be sold within a few days.

According to Claudia Wellendorf, the manufactory received inquiries well in advance, even if the design has not yet been decided.

The message contained in the name of the annual ring, which in the best case scenario hits the nerve of the times, should not be entirely insignificant.

Certainly a certain challenge, especially in times of crisis.

And ultimately, the symbolism and design must also become a harmonious whole.

It would have been easy to fall back on euphemisms for the name for the year 2021, with which possibly unrealizable expectations are attached.

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But Wellendorff has never made it easy for oneself.

Instead, one remains pragmatic with elliptical sentence structure.

“Life is” is the realistic message for 2021, which leaves everything open.

And this is also noticeable in the minimalist, almost abstract aesthetic.

A curved wave of hand-set diamonds is supposed to symbolize the ups and downs of life.

It extends over a surface made of cold enamel.

They also remain cautious when it comes to the color scheme.

An almost porcelain-like shade was achieved by adding transparent and white cold enamel.

Instead of indulging in nostalgia or looking too far into the future, Wellendorff wants to focus on the here and now with his new annual ring.

Without lows there are no highs in life, without a crisis there is no happiness.

Anyone who gives the ring away says nothing else than: Everything is good the way it is.

If you think about it carefully, there is hardly anything more valuable.

This text is from WELT AM SONNTAG.

We are happy to deliver them to your home on a regular basis.

Source: Welt am Sonntag