By: ISABELLA SANTIAGO
The art of jewelry-making meets the world of cognac with the stunning Hennessy Paradis x Lorenz Bäumer
The art of jewelry-making is a deeply expressive innovation involving carefully selecting precious gemstones and their skillful arrangement into timeless adornments. Now, combine this art form with the elegant blend of Hennessy’s Paradis cognac, and what you get is even more extraordinary. This is what renowned Parisian jeweler Lorenz Bäumer has done with his curation for Maison Hennessy Editions Rares Collection, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the NBA.
The basketball-shaped carafe is formed from hand-crafted Baccarat crystal, but the crowning jewel of the decanter is the faceted exterior pattern that magnifies the coppery cognac inside.
Hennessy’s Paradis is among the brand’s rarest cognacs, so who better to create its carafe than the eclectic mind of Lorenz Bäumer? His vision yielded a dynamic, sculptural decanter that fuses the excitement of basketball with the liquid poetry of Paradis and the fire of a diamond.
With only 75 pieces made, each Paradis x NBA decanter is unique. Each “basketball” tread is hand-gilded, and its opening is fitted with a golden key. Bäumer also crafted the cubed case it comes in, which is made of orange leather and enveloped in gold markings resembling the lines of a basketball. The astonishing showmanship doesn’t end there. The case doubles as a trophy with a signed and numbered gold-finished plaque, two balloon glasses, an arced fusil, and a unique golden key that opens the whole set for an extraordinary statement of sophistication and “b-ball” fanfare.