The making of a master
In a studio-workshop at the bottom of her west London garden is a white jeweller’s workbench that was built for Sabine Roemer by her uncle Werner when she was 15 years old and deeply committed to becoming a jeweller. At this bench, she has created framed animal artworks for Nelson Mandela, the Prince of Wales and many other outstanding clients, as well as bespoke high-jewellery rings and earrings in precious gemstones.
The custom piece for Mandela was a sculpted cow’s head, perhaps an unusual choice of subject. “I started reading books about his life, and one of the most touching things was the chapter on the mystical attachment to Nguni cattle in South Africa,” Roemer says as we sit in her studio. “They mean wealth and warmth, and the Nguni were a very special animal to him.” The piece was carved in wax, cast in white gold, set with black and white diamonds and then framed; Roemer flew to South Africa with it for the presentation at the annual charity gala for Mandela’s foundation, to celebrate his 89th birthday. “I was only…
