Wisselring by Paul Derrez. A Future Classic in Contemporary Jewellery

Paul Derrez responds to Klimt02’s invitation to professionals by sharing her Future Classics choice. The aim of this series is not to focus on contemporary jewellery already settled into an unquestioned canon, but rather to identify works whose conceptual depth holds the potential for lasting historical relevance.


The design fitted in the Dutch art and design aesthetics of the seventies: minimal and geometric, but had a playful twist: the possibility to choose and exchange color. As different sizes are required and the color range of acrylic is wide, I decided not to limit production to a specific number. So I made a few and was very happy to show them in Galerie Sieraad. From the beginning, this design was a success. It became a classic and still is. And popular: since 1975, I have made a few thousand of them, all by myself. The design was not standardized as I made them in the required size and in the colors chosen by the customer. This was part of the attraction and success, as was the wearability. The simplicity of the design surprises and sticks in the memory, its advertising itself! This design paid for a part of my bills. And there are people who wear my Wisselring already for 50 years, every day…. 



Why Future Classics?
What Makes a Contemporary Jewellery Piece Become a Classic? Our aim is not to define academic criteria or impose any form of conservatism, but to collect subjective perspectives that help us understand the values and expectations shaping our field, without reducing them to fixed rules or hierarchies. By sharing these voices, we invite you to think together and open a conversation about durability, relevance, and the ways particular works contain certain patterns or enigmas that make them continue to speak over time.

 

About the author

Paul Derrez (b. 1950, Sittard) is a Dutch jewellery artist and gallery owner whose work blends clear design with playful contrasts. Trained in goldsmithing at Schoonhoven and in performance arts in Utrecht, he gained international recognition by founding Galerie Ra in Amsterdam (1976–2019), a leading space for contemporary jewellery and objects. His creations often combine silver or steel with vibrant acrylics. Beyond his artistic practice, Derrez has been the chairman of the Françoise van den Bosch Foundation and has taught at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy.