VIVIANNA TORUN (1927-2004)

Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe was born in Malmö, Sweden, in 1927. Known simply as Torun, she was the first female jeweler to become internationally famous. Her jewelry is the sine qua non of mid-century Scandinavian design. She attended the Academy of Industrial Arts in Stockholm and was later the first female silversmith in Sweden to have her own workshop.

Torun began working with Georg Jensen in 1967 and made uncompromising jewelry using simple, sculptural spiral forms. She did not use valuable stones, preferring pebbles, granite, rock crystal, moonstone, and quartz, to design what she called her anti-status jewelry. Torun’s jewelry was inspired by natural shapes: flowers, leaves, swirls, and the flow of water. It is described as minimalist, but it also emphasizes the lines of a woman’s body.

One of Torun's most celebrated designs was the open watch band. The watch was renamed the “Vivianna” in honor of its creator. It was the first watch Georg Jensen ever produced and continues to be a success. Torun was much admired, including by Picasso, whose museum in Antibes showed her work beginning in 1958. Billie Holiday and Ingrid Bergman wore her jewelry.

Torun insisted that jewelry must marry with the contours of a woman’s body: “A piece of jewelry should be a symbol of love. It should enhance and move with the body so that it blends with you. It must not overwhelm but enhance you. This is why it must be timeless. It shouldn’t matter if you are seventeen or eighty-seven years old.”

Visit our exhibition page for "MEDITATIONS ON MODERNISM: Thirty Years of Jewelry Design by Jacqueline Rabun, 1990–2022 and Selections from Notable Post-WWII Nordic Jewelry" to learn more about the innovative and exquisite Nordic jewelry in our collection.