Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe (1927-2004) was a Swedish metalsmith and jewellery designer. She worked primarily in silver with semi-precious stones such as amethyst, agate, labradorite, quartz, rock crystal, mother-of-pearl, abalone and other shells.
In 1951, Torun Bülow-Hübe became the first female silversmith in Sweden with her own workshop; she worked there until 1956, when she immigrated to France. She lived and designed in France for 12 years, meeting Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and Henri Matisse. She left France, moving first to Germany and then to Indonesia. After her diagnosis with leukaemia in 2002, she moved to Denmark to be with her daughter.
In the mid 1950s, she began a lasting relationship with the Danish firm, Georg Jensen which continued up until her death in 2004. They continue to produce some of her designs including the ‘Vivianna’ wristwatch (shown in the montage above) which was first created in 1962.
Her work has been bought and worn by a string of celebrities; Brigitte Bardot, Ingrid Bergman, Billie Holiday, Pablo Picasso and Duke Ellington.
Torun Bülow-Hübe’s work can be found in the permanent collections of a number of international museums and galleries; MoMA in New York, the Swedish National Museum, Stockholm, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Montreal, the Louvre in Paris, the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in London and the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich.
In 1992, Torun was awarded the Prince Eugen medal by King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden. The medal is bestowed for outstanding artistic achievement.
Also in 1992, Georg Jensen in Copenhagen held an exhibition commemorating 25 years of Torun’s association with the company; 45 years of working with silver and her 65th birthday.
In addition, that year, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris held a retrospective of her work.
You can buy vintage examples of her designs on eBay and Etsy.
Portrait of Pentti Sarpaneva (left) with his mother and brother, Timo (