British luxury car makers Bentley have teamed up with jewellery house Heinz Mayer to create a stunning diamond pendant to mark their 100th birthday.
Revealed at the Jewellery Arabia Show in Bahrain in its glorious gold and platinum setting, the 20.08 carat pear-shaped fancy-yellow diamond sparkles with the magic created by master cutters to reveal the beauty of the stone. Its unusual colour comes from the nitrogen molecules in its composition.
The pendant’s journey starts with Bentley designer Chris Cooke, who created the original designs for the magnificent gold and platinum settings displaying the unique jewel chosen to celebrate this year’s centenary. He was inspired by the EXP 100 GT, the concept car that embodies Bentley’s vision of luxury mobility during the next phase of future development.
To resemble the Bentley ‘Wings’, the stone itself is affixed in a cradle made of 18-karat yellow gold, further encrusted with 56 natural diamonds and a laser engraved insignia.
The final designs are then given to expert Master Goldsmiths at Heinz Mayer in Idar-Oberstein, Germany, for a feasibility study. The first prototypes are crafted, checked and compared to the original design files. Through this painstaking method, the collaborative arts of graphic computer design and craftsmanship develop and fuse into one.