Rubies intense in colours, cloudy with inclusions or clear, are usually burdened with history – yet, not so the Greenland deposits of some of the World’s oldest gemstones.
The vast views, rugged nature and cold climate of Greenland calls for jewellery. The beauty and soul of the landscapes are without parallel. Rubies abound with gold – and when the Aurora Borealis, the northern lights, dance across the night sky like green fire, the show is visually breath-taking in its majesty, countered only by the most glowing red of the rubies. No sounds. Just Nature showing off.
Protector of Purity/Aarnguaq
Bodil Binner’s unique pendant scent bottle Protector of Purity/Aarnguaq has wings made of Greenland gold, etched with lines that follow the contours of the 160.80 carat Greenland ruby. Inside is three drops of melted inland ice. TThis modern relic is shown at the special perfume exhibition Making Scents! which opened in spring 2021 at the natural history museum Naturama in Svendborg, Danmark.
Greenland origins – Danish design
The heritage of the Inuit – their beliefs founded in nature and the blinding whiteness of the snow – held rubies as sacred blood drops shed by the rock formations. Looking like glowing blood in UV light, the rubies’ fluorescence can be almost startling, sparkling with the remnants of an original people’s religion and way of life – equally eerie and mesmerising.
