Hi Ho, Silver!

‘Good things take time.’ Rarely has that old saying fitted as perfectly as it does to these lustrous silver treasures. It takes three full months for Zaha Hadid’s duo of ‘Loa’ and ‘Vesu’ vases to pass through the workshops of Wiener Silber Manufactur – three months during which the precious material is shaped by the hands of two master silversmiths into a dynamic, flowing form and embellished with a finely structured surface. Yet it’s worth the wait. Not only are these vases designed by the star architect as expressive and unconventional as her buildings, they are also equally perfect in detail and workmanship. Creative Director Dr Barbara Kamler-Wild is convinced: ‘No other silver vase is made with more care and attention.’

The most recent splendid addition to the collection offered by this traditional manufacturing firm, Zaha Hadid’s design takes its rightful place among the ranks of its equally worthy predecessors. For over 130 years, the company has worked with the leading designers of the times to produced new objects made of the finest silver. The best-known pieces produced in its long history include such designer classics as Josef Hoffmann’s silver cutlery service no. 135 from 1902, which forged entirely new paths with its radically functional form, or Oswald Haerdtl’s attractive silver pitcher, first produced in 1954. The firm preserves some 11,000 original draft drawings for use as models for subsequent editions of these classic objects in its archives. Today, it is such renowned designers and artists as Erwin Wurm, Thomas Bastide, Tomás Alonso, Ted Muehling, Wolfgang Joop and Zaha Hadid who produce the new designs and thus uphold the tradition of this venerable house.

The vases are produced by a small team of young, innovative silversmiths for whom outstanding craftsmanship and masterful precision are the prerequisites for their work in the factory in southern Vienna. Every product is developed in close consultation with the designer – after all, one can never be certain at the outset that the design can be realised as the designer envisioned it. The level of quality achieved in the process, especially in terms of surface treatment, is unequalled in the world. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the firm trains its own silversmiths – for where else should they be found?

‘Our silversmiths not only have to be excellent craftsmen, they must be daring as well,’ says Dr Kamler-Wild, ‘because we test the limits of what the silversmith’s art is capable of today.’ And that certainly applies to Zaha Hadid’s vases, whose finely structured surfaces are as far removed from the traditional silverware of the 19th century as is a Hadid museum building from a 19th-century city house. So is it handcraft, design or art? ‘A little of each,’ explains Dr Kamler-Wild. ‘For us, the boundaries separating these terms have long since faded away.’

The quality of formal design and production is high, and so are the demands imposed on the material. These products are made of a newly developed alloy with a pure silver content of 94 percent – much higher than that of the sterling silver used elsewhere. All items are produced in solid form. The factory deliberately refrains from producing silver-plated objects, which means that the products not only have greater material value, but are also more tarnish-resistant than sterling silver. In fact, the silverware is actually dishwasher-safe.

Given its attention to quality, it is not at all surprising that Wiener Silber Manufactur has long been regarded as the top address for fine silver objects that meet the highest design standards. The broad range of products unites European design classics with contemporary designs, and has something to offer for every taste. While design-minded customers in the US and Europe favour modern classics, such as Hoffmann’s cutlery service no. 135, buyers in the burgeoning markets in China and the Gulf nations tend to prefer contemporary designs. Luxury hotels, corporate enterprises and even royal houses furnish their rooms with goods produced by the tradition-rich, Viennese company – one of the last factories in Europe that still offer exclusive and custom-made products.

And here is the good news: one needn’t be a monarch or a wealthy collector to grace one’s home with a piece of design history from Wiener Silber Manufactur. Items from the entire product programme can be ordered from an online shop and visitors to Austria can experience the high art of silver craftsmanship at the silver boutique in the heart of Vienna – and purchase their favourite pieces on the spot.