MUMBAI: As the global leader in musical instruments, Gibson Brands is proud to announce the inaugural collaboration between world-class jewelry designer Aaron Shum, founder of Coronet and celebrated musician and designer Mark Lui in the design of the truly exquisite ‘Eden of Coronet’, a Diamond Gibson Guitar masterpiece. The showpiece was first revealed at Hall 1 of Baselworld 2015, Switzerland and is estimated to be worth USD$2 million with a shot at setting a Guinness World record for ‘most valuable guitar’.
Gibson Brands has a long history and is renowned for its top quality musical instruments, consumer electronics and professional audio equipment since its establishment in 1894. The brand has spared no effort in spreading its message and driving the Gibson Brands belief in quality music across the world. Chairman and CEO of Gibson Brands, Henry Juszkiewicz stated, “The masterpiece is a joint effort of three distinct brands. The creativity comes from the process of blending ideas and cultures from different industries, which further solidifies Gibson beyond just a guitar brand. All along we’ve been striving to expand our business to different sectors of the consumer market and ‘Eden of Coronet’ is definitely an important milestone for what we target to achieve.”
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Breaking Through the Traditional Perceptions of Rock and Roll Gibson guitars under the Gibson Brands has always received perpetual worship from music fans, especially for its symbolic Rock and Roll image. This time, the partnership with two connoisseurs in their own fields, Aaron Shum, CEO of Aaron Shum Jewelry, and endlessly talented designer Mark Lui, has helped to revolve the image of Gibson Guitars by incorporating natural and feministic characteristics into the design.
Aaron Shum Jewelry and its signature brand Coronet had its premiere at Baselworld Hall 1 in Switzerland on 20 March, 2015. Other international jewelry brands such as Graff, Dior, Hermes were also featured at the event. To highlight the occasion, Aaron Shum, CEO of Aaron Shum Jewelry invited distinguished designer Mark Lui to design the brand’s one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Lui expressed that, “When Aaron asked me to shoulder the design of the Guitar, Gibson came to mind immediately, not only is it my favorite but also the most famed Guitar brand in the world.”
Named ‘Eden of Coronet’, the masterpiece is a reflection of Mark’s artistic talent with inspiration taken from nature itself. Featuring the motifs of Coronet-flora and a variety of nature-inspired themes, the masterpiece is adorned with over 400 carat diamonds set in approximately 1.6kg of 18k gold. The showpiece is estimated to be worth USD$2 million.
The Birth of a Revolutionary Masterpiece.
From the concept development, market research, design, technical analysis, materials sourcing, mold making, casting, filing, stone setting to polishing and quality control, this magnificent art piece took a strong team of 68 people to produce, adding up to 700 man-days to complete the project.
Shum unfolded the story of the Eden of Coronet, “A lot of traditional techniques cannot be used given the massive scale and the exceptional quantity of diamonds being used in the design. However, with the spirit of innovation and with the Guinness World Records target in mind, there was a high morale in the production team and we finally managed to create this wonderful masterpiece.”
Lui continued, “There are a lot of guitars in the market accessorized with crystals, but with actual gold and diamonds incorporated in the design – this is no doubt, the first piece of its kind. I intentionally chose the SG model as I note that before the collaboration, the SG model was perceived as a very masculine guitar, but when you look at it from a different angle, it actually has a very feminine structure and curves which allowed me to open up my creativity and explore a new arena in the design space of the guitar. I cut out 2 holes on the solid body of the guitar to create and embody the spacious, harmonious environment of the Garden of Eden.” Henry described it as a combination of different backgrounds, culture and thinking processes, which come together to create the charm of this successful masterpiece.”
Converging the ideas of three legendary brands to brining out the Best in Local design, Lui shared his insight of the art scene in Hong Kong, “It’s a place where different cultures collide, and the most ideal playground for our creative collaboration. I believe we’ve never lacked an outstanding artist, but it all comes to recognizing the talent and showing our capabilities to the world. This is our mutual ideology behind the project.”
After its premiere, Gibson Brands will begin a worldwide tour to promote the ‘Eden of Coronet’. The destinations include the Grammy awards, based in the US; New York Fashion Week; Musikmesse 2015 in Germany; CES Asia and other renowned consumer product exhibitions. Consumers in Hong Kong would be able to witness this masterpiece at the local Gibson event this summer. In addition, Aaron Shum Jewelry and Diamond Partner Chow Tai Fook would also host additional tours around its 2250 retail outlets in Greater China and the Middle East to display this gem.
As Juszkiewicz says, “Every Gibson guitar is an art piece. It shows the passion, craftsmanship and artistry of many people who make the instrument ever since the birth of Gibson in 1894.”
