Paris-based design studio Golem is offering one of the summer’s coolest accessories. Its OoOoooOoooOh la l'ice necklace, which features multiple real ice cubes, is meant to be worn frozen before melting.
Created during this summer’s heatwave in Berlin, the piece aims to celebrate the value of water. “The idea came during a hot 24-hour party in Club Der Visionaere, Berlin," Golem founder Ariel Claudet told Dezeen. “In a survival move to overcome the crushing heat of one of the hottest summers Germany has ever experienced, partygoers started to grab ice cubes from the freezers and rub each other with it.”
Icy —
According to Claudet and designer Laila El Mehelmy, who partnered with Golem to create the ice necklace, the piece highlights the rising value assigned to water as temperatures increase across the globe. “At a time when water sources are being privatized and water scarcity is striking all countries across the globe, water is turning from an overlooked commodity into one of the most sought-after luxury goods,” Claudet further told Dezeen.
To repeatedly make this statement, the OoOoooOoooOh la l'ice necklace comes with a custom-made silicone tray that allows wearers to refill and freeze its cubes. After being frozen, the necklace boasts seven ice cubes, each linked by solid silver beads. Larger beads mark the center of where each ice cube sits.
Golem found that the cubes melt after around 30 minutes on warm skin, or an hour when worn atop clothing. “This process induced by the heat from the wearer's body reflects the human impact on natural cycles,” the studio said in a statement. “It shows how humankind acts as a catalyst to natural processes and dangerously accelerates global warming and desertification.”
When not frozen, the jewelry can be worn as a regular silver-beaded necklace or choker. Golem wanted its piece to be as beautiful with its ice cubes as without, while continuing to highlight its sustainable message: “When worn as a simple solid silver necklace, the larger beads mark where a water gem once stood and where a new one will one day solidify again,” Claudet told Dezeen.
Keep cool —
The OoOoooOoooOh la l'ice necklace can be adorned with other liquids, of course, and Golem encourages this. “We like the idea of the wearer appropriating the piece," Claudet further told Dezeen. “A client from Greece told us she will use cocktails instead of water so people would gather and lick her body while she dances in Mykonos. Another client from Albania had us explain to a 3 Michelin star chef how to use it so it was brought for dessert on a silver tray as a gift for a friend of his.”
Those thirsty for the icy jewelry can contact Golem through its website. The accessory will keep you looking and feeling cool.
