SHINE
BRIGHT

SHINE
BRIGHT

We could start off with some cheesy quote about diamonds and best friends. Let’s not. Instead, let us get straight to the point: we designed a diamond exhibition in Maasmechelen Village.

When you are assigned to create a design for a ‘Love the Diamond boutique’, what’s the first thing that pops up? BLING BLING! Hold your horses. Clichés are not our style. We started our design with the origin of the diamond: (crystallized) carbon.

Love the diamond maasmechelen village

Diamonds consist entirely of crystallized carbon. Carbon can only crystallize at extremely high temperatures and pressure; circumstances found 150 kilometers below ground. Crystallized carbon rises to the surface through volcano eruptions, sealed in volcanic rock.

BLING
BLA

BLING
BLA

Love the diamond maasmechelen village

DIAMOND
//VULCANO

DIAMOND
//VULCANO

The black rough stone that emerges from the heart of the earth has, after lots of grinding and polishing, a shiny core with many facets and colors. This is exactly what we see in the interior design. The walls are painted black and look like we’ve plastered them with carbon. At the center of the exposition an iridescent volume is shining in an array of colors and facets.

Love the diamond maasmechelen village

Belgium, and Antwerp in particular, is a large player in the history of diamonds. An impressive 80% of the rough diamonds that are mined worldwide end up in Antwerp. The oldest existing document proving diamond trade in Antwerp, goes back to 1447, when a city magistrate proclaimed an edict stipulating that strong measures were to be taken to combat the trade in fake gemstones, including diamonds. Pretty hardcore, don’t you think?

HARDCORE
DIAMOND CITY

HARDCORE
DIAMOND CITY

Even though the price of diamonds in the ‘Love the Diamond boutique’ can amount to millions of euros, the history lesson is for free. The past is female. Especially the past of the diamond trade. Quite exceptional at a time – starting from the 15th century – when women didn’t exactly have a lot of say in things.

Love the diamond maasmechelen village

Love the diamond maasmechelen village

When walking through the exposition, graphic images and luminous books – that refer to old scriptures – tell the story of the Reyns sisters, leading diamond ladies of the 18th century, and the diamond. Within the room various pieces of furniture are displaying world-famous diamonds, including the Koh-I-Noor, an exceptional diamond of 109 carats. Another unique piece is the original register of the Reyns sisters.

Storytelling, the exhibition of diamonds, the iridescent volume and the reference to carbon – there’s many facets that make this project shine.

Scope of work

interior design

Year

2018

Location

Maasmechelen — Belgium

Client

Maasmechelen Village

Share