ALCHEMY 1977 / ALCHEMY GOTHIC Spring New Releases 2008

ALCHEMY 1977 / ALCHEMY GOTHIC Spring New Releases 2008

Alchemy are very excited about their latest new releases for Spring 2008, which will be being delivered to most stockists, everywhere, about now. This stunning collection was very well received on premier showing at the latest season of trade exhibitions, where retailers and distributors were the first people to get to glimpse these amazing pieces before choosing what they should stock on behalf of their customers. The trade shows around this time include LondonEdge, the NEC Spring Fair and Las Vegas’ MAGIC.

One very successful theme at the heart of this collection has been carefully developed under the name of SALIGIA. To describe in a nutshell what this is all about, SALIGIA is a sinfully beautiful range of jewellery and giftware with a unique, seven-sided theme, each facet symbolising one of the seven deadly sins, feared and venerated by our Medieval forbears.

To explain its evolution, this new SALIGIA collection of Alchemy’s was first inspired by an exquisite, late Medieval, seven-sided glass, spotted recently by an Alchemy designer in the Gothenburg museum, in Sweden, which then presented a challenge to see if the effect could be replicated in pewter. Of course, Alchemy is very proud to say that they did indeed manage to achieve this effect with spectacular results, which then lead-on to more ideas… Seven is such a wonderful number!

In 1485, Hieronymus Bosch painted one of his lesser known wonders, ‘The Seven Deadly Sins’, depicting the Church’s doctrine of moral righteousness to the masses. These ’sins’, collectively named ‘SALIGIA’ after the first letter of each sin, in its Latin form, are now incorporated into each pewter piece in Alchemy’s new collection, and both the pendant and the buckle also feature ‘God’s Eye’ in Swarovski crystal, with its accompanying scroll reading “Caue, Dus videt”, (Beware, God sees), again, all from Bosch’s numinous painting.

The mnemonic SALIGIA is made-up of the first letters of each of the Latin names of the Seven Deadly Sins, as follows:

Superbia(Pride), Avaritia(Greed), Luxuria(Lust), Ira(Anger), Gula(Gluttony), Invidia(Envy) and Acedi(Sloth).

Above – The unique SALIGIA collection, including pendant, bangle, ring, buckle, goblet, tankard and flask. Other new items: Jewellery, (or Jewelry, to our American friends!); An unbelievably unique and exotic range of jewellery with diverse themes, such as the ‘Amberdragon’ pendant (P509), so named because amber was, at one time, thought to be solidified dragon’s tears, and ‘Currigueresque’ (P514), an elaborate, traditionally styled Spanish cross, in the extravagant fashion of the Churriguera family, sculptors and architectural decorators there between 1665 and 1725, stunningly created from Swarovski crystals. Also, the best-selling necklace ‘Queen of the Night’ (P503), reflecting the antipathy of the ancient Iranian prophet and sage Zoroaster’s ‘Moral Order’ and instead representing opulence and decadence. Another example of a design with a difference is the ‘Winter Garden Crystal’ ring (R137), again made from a large Austrian crystal, but with creeping ivy trailing across its two-finger span. This whole collection of new releases can be seen online, here at the Alchemy 1977 new releases page.

Above - Pendossuary necklace (P505), and Winter Garden Crystal ring (R137) Metal Wall Signs; Some of Alchemy Studios’ most famous, detailed and effective Gothic artwork, as well as some of the new contemporary, ‘urban Rock ‘n Roll’ and 50’s retro style Alchemy UL13 art, is now available as superb quality, highly desirable, traditionally styled enamelled metal wall signs, made under license by The Original Metal Sign Company. This collection can be seen here in the Alchemy Gothic online catalogue.

Above – ‘To Win Without Risk’ metal wall sign. T-Shirts; Continuing the success of the previous lady’s skinny shirts and the men’s fitted shirts, we have released four fabulous new designs that will take you straight into the summer season, seen online here.

Above – Fin De Siecle,

Girl’s Skinny T, (BTS338); a turn-of-the-century fairy, capturing the hedonism and morbid fascinations of the European intelligencia, struggling to throw of the strict morality of the nineteenth century.