I dream of making jewelry that is so near to being feminine that you wear it all the time, you live with it on. [People should] have things that touch their hearts, and have them for decades.
Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe
Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe (often known, simply, as Torun), was one of the first woman silversmiths to rise to prominence in the 20th century. In a life filled with decisions that Torun described as "reckless," (she capriciously followed her whims, which lead her from her native Sweden to Germany, Paris, and Jakarta, among other locales), she remained committed to her practice of coaxing sterling silver into sensual, sculptural forms that continue to resonate as timeless works of the modernist spirit.
She also used common stones such as quartz, granite and pebbles (she famously met Picasso, by chance, while wandering a beach in Paris, collecting stones). Necklaces are made to complement the elegant curve of a collarbone, moonstones float from earrings constructed of thin, nearly imperceptible silver wire and large unpolished quartz stones rest in the shallow depression of one's back, like a protective amulet.
To Torun, her jewelry "symbolizes the vibrations of life, infinity, heavenly creation." While modernist in its execution, Torun's work is tied to our most ancient and primal impulses to beautify and embellish the body using the natural materials and forms we encounter in our environments.
Nicholas Manville, senior vice-president of design at Georg Jensen, which Torun began designing for in the 1960s, regards her works as jewelry "a woman would buy for herself, more than a man would buy for a woman." Instead of flashy show pieces bedecked with precious stones, which were fashionable during the decadent 1970s when Torun was at the height of her career, she created organic, minimalist pieces with sterling silver. An early influence that brought about these delicate forms was Torun's childhood love of ice skating: "When I work with silver I perceive within my whole being the curves, the turns, like when my skates were tracing precise and slow figures on the ice."
Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe 1927–2004
Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe was a visionary Swedish jewelry designer celebrated for her minimalist, modernist approach and for creating some of the most iconic designs of the 20th century. Often referred to simply as "Torun," she defied conventions of both jewelry and gender, producing elegant, wearable art that emphasized fluid lines, natural materials, and a deep sense of harmony and balance.
Born in Malmö, Sweden, Torun was the daughter of a sculptor and a town planner, and her upbringing instilled in her a strong creative spirit and independent mindset. She began designing jewelry as a teenager and later studied at the Konstfack (University of Arts, Crafts and Design) in Stockholm. Even early in her career, Torun broke with tradition by choosing to work in materials like twisted silver wire, rock crystal, and semi-precious stones—rejecting opulence in favor of purity and movement.
In the 1950s and ’60s, Torun became a leading figure in avant-garde design circles in Europe. She gained international recognition not only for her groundbreaking aesthetics but also for her defiant position as one of the few prominent female silversmiths in a male-dominated industry. Her work embodied an organic elegance—light, fluid, and sculptural, with asymmetry and open spaces that invited interaction with the body. She once said, “A piece of jewelry should be a symbol of love, a token of faith, or a reminder of a moment of happiness. It should not be a status symbol.”
Perhaps her most enduring contributions came through her long collaboration with the Danish silver company Georg Jensen, which began in 1969. For Jensen, she designed several iconic pieces, including the Vivianna bangle watch, a sleek, open-ended timepiece that merged form and function while challenging the very notion of time as restrictive. Her creations for Georg Jensen—bracelets, necklaces, and rings—remain among the company’s best-known and best-selling designs.
Torun’s personal life was as unconventional as her work. She lived in Paris, Germany, Indonesia, and finally in the South of France, where she became involved with the spiritual movement Subud. Her international lifestyle and openness to different cultures deeply informed her creative worldview. Today, Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe is remembered not only as a master jeweler, but also as a pioneer of modern design.
Auction Results Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe
Auction Results Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe for Georg Jensen
