FASHION
GET BEJEWELED WITH OLE LYNGGAARD
OCTOBER 29, 2022
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WORDS
by KRISTOPHER FRASER
PHOTOS
COURTESY of OLE LYNGGAARD
BRAND RELATIONS DIRECTOR
JIMMY NEDA
Ole Lynggaard has spent almost sixty years as one of Denmark’s largest standing jewelry companies. The company prides itself on the ethos of the Danish work-life balance. A core part of the brand’s identity is also family.
In 1963, the brand’s namesake founder Ole Lynggaard rented his first workshop on a street in Copenhagen in the Hellerup neighborhood. Today, Ole alongside his daughter Charlotte Lynggaard sell their brand to 275 global retailers and in five flagship stores. Today, Charlotte wears many creative hats working from the brand from marketing to creative direction.
When Charlotte started her career, she originally doubted if she wanted to even be a fashion designer. She was on the fence between, working with textiles and furniture, working in advertising, or working as a goldsmith. When the opportunity came to work at her family’s company, she saw it as the perfect opportunity to combine all her passions from fine jewelry to marketing. Everything the brand does, from interior decoration to metalsmithing, takes place in-house so they can pay attention to every detail.
While Ole is happy to have his daughter carry on his legacy, it wasn’t something he intended, and it happened completely organically.
“My father never planned my path,” Charlotte said. “He always trusted that we would figure out what we are best and happiest at doing. This is a huge advantage in our company – trust. What we would add to the company was always up to us. There was no expectation of us carrying on the company, but when it came up, my father was very open-minded. He has always been confident in what we do, even if he could not imagine it or even would disagree.”
In designing jewelry, Charlotte doesn’t look at commercial needs to trends, but, rather, turns to her intuition. She doesn’t even consider people’s preferences. While this logic would typically go against the grain of retail economic basics. She designs based solely on creative freedom, and it has worked out well for her so far because the business is still booming.
Despite the very particular craft that goes into Ole Lynggaard’s pieces, Charlotte doesn’t obsess over ensuring the design traditions of the brand are passed down. She said, “If the next generation is open-minded, inspired, and has confidence in the brand and designing jewelry, I’m sure we’ll see the design traditions passed on all by itself.”
Perfecting a jewelry piece is a long process for the brand. It can often take Charlotte months or years to get a piece right. She starts by bringing the pieces to life as playful drawings and experimental sculptures. Then she starts crafting the jewelry in 18 karat gold fusing both the old traditions and new techniques with Ole Lynggaard’s team of master goldsmiths. She also wears the pieces herself first before putting them into production to ensure fit, design, and usability is perfected before they go to customers.
Her inspiration for her collections comes from nature. “I have been raised to thrive outside,” Charlotte said. “I adore observing the constant change in nature, this perpetual circle of life. Also, contrasts and textures inspire me a lot, and that is the reason why I adore working with different palettes of precious stones. Besides nature, I am very inspired by art, the diversity of women, and the playful way in which we express ourselves.”
The brand recently opened a new store in Germany to expand its retail network. The German market is one of Ole Lynggaard’s biggest markets, and they wanted to open a flagship location in Munich to reflect that and position themselves as the high-end luxury brand they are.
