This is definitely Cillian Murphy’s moment. After half a year of Oscar nomination frenzy, starting last July when Oppenheimer premiered (on the same day as Barbie), last night the Co Cork native became the first Irish-born actor to win Best Actor at the Academy Awards.
For the occasion, Cillian Murphy dressed up his custom Atelier Versace suit with the bespoke HS14 Gem Brooch by Sauvereign, a Hong Kong-based house known for precious art objects. Designed by Bertrand Mak, founder and chief creator of Sauvereign, the HS14 Gem Brooch is entirely crafted from yellow gold, in a shape composed of eight concentric trapeziums—a reference to the cross-section of the implosion device patented by J. Robert Oppenheimer that later formed the basis for the atomic bomb nicknamed Fat Man. Hand-cut and -finished by Kari Voutilainen, the Swiss-based Finnish independent watchmaker known for his eponymous brand, the brooch features detailed sunburst guilloché, which creates reflections that Sauvereign describes as a “blinding flash of beauty right before the arrival of darkness”.
The creative process for the HS14 gem brooch began last December, when Mak met Cillian Murphy’s stylist, Rose Forde, in London, and she invited Mak to design a brooch for the actor. “It was never intended for the Oscars specifically,” Mak shares with GRAZIA Singapore. “She invited me to prepare a design and I was thrilled, even if Cillian Murphy were to end up wearing it on his dressing gown.”
Through studying Murphy’s style and personality, Mak settled on a design direction that was simple but well-considered, subtle yet bold, minimal and detailed, he explains. “I decided to play with fundamental forms that only upon closer inspection reveal depth and complex nuances, which constantly oscillate between the two ends of the spectrum. Cillian has never worn a designer brooch to any major awards ceremony, so I knew I must resist the temptation to over-decorate and take the piece larger to scream for attention. The colossal efforts and scrupulous consideration resulted in such a quiet intensity that is strong but silent.”
“As a one-of-a-kind bespoke object expressly for Murphy and for the Oscars, the genesis, of course, is from his role in the film,” Mak adds. “But as with the enigmatic actor, I intend to leave room for imagination and personal interpretation. [That’s where] the trapezium [comes in].”