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Sơn Mài - Emerald (The Jewels of Vietnam)
Regular price $550.00 USDRegular priceUnit price per -
Sơn Mài - Ruby (The Jewels of Vietnam)
Regular price $550.00 USDRegular priceUnit price per -
Sơn Mài - Amber (The Jewels of Vietnam)
Regular price $550.00 USDRegular priceUnit price per
Son Mai - The Jewels of Vietnam
The Son Mai Jewels of Vietnam is inspired by beauty that can be found within the depths of the Earth itself. For centuries, precious stones such as diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and many more have been culturally significant and important throughout the different dynasties in Vietnam. This ranged from the bronze, stone, and shell-based jewelry of the Ly Dynasty to the more recent and modern aesthetic of gold necklaces and rings adorned with gems in the Nguyen Dynasty.
The intricacies and inherent value of gems within Vietnamese culture is the reason why this newest collection is heavily inspired by the Jewels of Vietnam. In collaboration with artist Pham Chinh Trung, we wanted to create fountain pens that exemplified a timeless beauty and significance, which is why we chose a unique combination of styles that have never been seen before in any of our previous entries into the Son Mai series of pens.
Inspired By The Gem
Like the fractals of a gemstone, we wanted to create a translucent appearance for the fountain pen, allowing users to see the innerworkings of their fountain pen as the ink ebbs and flows during their writing session. Each fountain pen in the Jewels of Vietnam collection uses a demonstrator model of our Dream Pen Fountain Pen as the basis for Urushi art, which makes for an otherworldly combination.
For decades, Vietnam has been well known for having some of the finest rubies in the entire world, including the vibrant Star Rubies. The majority of rubies are extracted directly from the Luc Yen district of Hanoi, and like the Son Mai - Ruby, these rubies are notable for their bright red color and beauty.
In Vietnamese culture, rubies are especially important due to their red color being a symbol of luck, good fortune, and victory. The eggshell inlay (Son Ta) represents the difficulty in finding such pure rubies without blemishes and imperfections, but in this fountain pen design, the pure white of the inlay is our way of signaling that even imperfect rubies can be as visually arresting as a flawless one.
The inspiration for the Son Mai - Emerald are the undiscovered emeralds in a literal, as well as figurative sense. As geologists continue to scour the rich landscape of Vietnam with the goal of discovering an emerald deposit, they do so with the consolation that an emerald's beauty is worth the time and effort.
In life, we may have lofty goals that seem forever out-of-reach, but as with the recently discovered amber on Phu Quoc, we continue to strive for it because we still have hope of the possibility of success. The inlaid eggshell art represents the emeralds that have yet to be found and may never be found, but with the Son Mai - Emerald, we may have the next best thing until the day of discovery comes.
Although the amber gemstone has existed in Vietnamese jewelry for centuries, a natural deposit of amber was only discovered in 2020 on the island of Phu Quoc. It is from this specific type of amber that we drew inspiration for the Son Mai - Amber.
The gem - like the pen's demonstrator body - is transparent with a reddish orange color. The eggshell inlay (Son Ta) serves as a contrasting, yet alluring pattern to the rest of the pen, and it is meant to resemble how the glow of the amber stands out against the unforgiving rockface.
Eggshell Artwork - SƠN TA (Son Ta)
SƠN TA (Son Ta) is a type of Vietnamese traditional paint used in Sơn Mài. The resin is made from the tree called Toxicodendron Succedaneum. Due to the transparent nature of Urushi (lacquer), the Son Ta technique does not have a white color, which led to artisans in Vietnam inlaying eggshells directly onto the object as a complementary or contrasting decorative aspect to the artistic design. The most challenging part is attaching the eggshell piece by piece before applying many layers of lacquer to in order to flatten the surface.
About the Artisan: PHAM Chinh Trung
PHAM Chinh Trung is the master with 50 years of dedication in lacquer painting. His painting is widely exhibited and known among prestigious artisans in Vietnam. "Business Insider" featured an interview with him regarding Son Mai painting. Read more here.
