Kalevala highlights
The nine decades of Finland's most beloved jewelry brand can hold a lot. Classics and future classics.
1930s–1960s
1937 Elsa Heporauta founds Kalevala Jewelry. The first collection based on antique jewelry was a great success.
In the early 1950s, modern jewelry design gained more and more foothold with Eero Rislak and Börje Rajalin.
The unique space piece Silver Mobile, designed by Rajalin and manufactured by Kalevala Jewelry, won a gold medal at the Triennale in Milan in 1960 and thus received a lot of publicity in both domestic and international media.
The fashion artist Paula Häiväoja, known for her ultramodern silver jewelry, was named the first woman as the head designer of Kalevala Jewelry in 1963.
Rising young jewelry designer Björn Weckström designed the Flowering Wall necklace, which won the jewelry design competition organized in honor of the 400th anniversary of the city of Rio de Janeiro in 1965.
In the 60s, modern jewelry design played a central role in the international breakthrough of the Finnish art industry.
The 1970s
In the early 1970s, Björn Weckström started designing unconventional, unique acrylic-silver jewelry, of which the Petrified Lake ring was the first. In 1971, the ring was seen on The Dick Cavett Show on Yoko Ono's finger. John Lennon had bought the ring from a goldsmith's shop in Gothenburg.
The spouses of the heads of state who participated in the Salt meeting held in the spring of 1972 visited Kalevala Jewelry's new office in Helsinki. Heart-themed jewelry designed by Germund Paaer in the 1940s was presented to the spouses as a memory of the visit - and as a reminder that peace in the world begins in people's hearts. At that time, the jewelry got a new name Salt heart.
In the 1970s, along with jewelry, Kalevala Jewelry also sold knitwear and ceramics.
In 1977, in the first Star Wars movie, Princess Leia was seen wearing the Planetoid Valleys necklace designed by Weckström in 1969 and Darina's bracelet, which are part of the Space Silver jewelry collection. Read how a piece of jewelry ended up in an iconic movie. LINK
The creation of Weckström's Space silver jewelry collection was inspired by the conquest of space and the winter landscapes of the north.
The Planetoid Valleys necklace became world famous with the first Star Wars movie and Princess Leia.
1980s and 1990s
A new flagship store was opened on Helsinki's Unioninkatu, which operated at the same address for almost three decades. In 1989, Kalevala Jewelry bought Kaunis Koru, a company founded in 1956 focusing on modern Finnish jewelry design.
In the 1990s, Kalevala Jewelry gained unprecedented popularity. Large bronze jewelry based on historical examples were particularly sought after. Announced on Kalevala Day 1997, the Sun Lion, Kalevala Jewelry's 60th anniversary jewelry, became one of the best-selling jewelry models of all time. Its first numbered pieces made of Lapland gold were lined up at the door of the store on Unioninkatu.
Several series designed in the 21st century, such as Snow Flower, Twinflower and Dream, have become classics of modern Finnish jewelry design.
2000s and 2010s
Several series designed in the 21st century, such as Marja Suna's Snow Flower, as well as Kirsti Doukas' Twinflower and Dream, have become classics of modern Finnish jewelry design. The Dream jewelry was designed in honor of women's right to vote, and the jewelry is still used to celebrate equality and individual courage.
The Menelaus necklace designed by Björn Weckström in 2002, made of gold and smoky quartz polished by Bernd Munsteiner, is the most valuable Lapponian jewelry ever made.
In 2005, two iconic Finnish jewelry companies merged when Finland's largest jewelry manufacturer Kalevala Jewelry bought Lapponia Jewelry.
The Dream jewelry was designed in honor of women's right to vote, and the jewelry is still used to celebrate equality and individual courage.
2010–2020 - the story of the Finnish design house continues
The past decade has many unforgettable moments and achievements.
The 2017 Untamed Beauty brand film is still remembered as refreshingly diversifying the image of women. Kalevala Jewelry's 80th birthday was celebrated in December with e.g. in the Flagship store, in the sign of the Kalevala jewelry tattoos made for customers.
The Female Lion jewelry was launched in 2018, and it quickly became loved for its message of equality. The face of the jewelry was the luminous Finnish singer Alma.
In the same year, Swedish designer Martin Bergström designed The Kuu Collection jewelry series for Kalevala. The jewelry series interpreted light and dark, visible and invisible in a powerful way, combining jewelry design with modern fashion and design.
In 2019, Sielu, designed by designer Karim Rashid, was added to the collection, a jewelry series inspired by organic lines and the human body.
Kalevala reborn
Kalevala renewed its logo and brand in 2020. At the same time, a new era began, when two unique brands and a total of more than 100 years of Finnish jewelry manufacturing history – Lapponia and Kalevala Koru – merged into the new Kalevala. Björn Weckström designed the Golden Chasm jewelry series for the new Kalevala. Lapland's unique design heritage lives on stronger than ever.
In 2020, Sanna Marin was seen wearing a Kalevala necklace designed by Paula Häiväoja on the cover of Trendi magazine. The cover photo with the necklaces made headlines and became the talk of the town worldwide. The #imwithsanna phenomenon was born.
The Finnish fashion brand hálo and Kalevala released a joint Tundra jewelry series in 2021. The jewelry is inspired by the rugged nature of Lapland and especially the gorse that grows there — its delicate, yet powerful shapes.
In 2022, designer Anni Ruuth's Summer Night Rose series was launched. The jewelry series draws from the magic of a Finnish summer night, the enchantment of the past and the innocence of beautiful moments.
Kalevala's responsible diamond and wedding ring collection, Kalevala Love, was also launched in 2022. The ring collection is a tribute to Finnish goldsmithing, and with its modern design drawing on ancient symbols and myths, the collection brings centuries-old stories to this day.
The designer and creative director of Aalto International, Tuomas Merikoski, invited Kalevala to be part of the Aalto Recoded™️ collection show at the Fashion in Helsinki event in spring 2023. The iconic Kalevala jewelry was included in a bold new way as part of the Aalto collection . Kalevala Koru shares the same handcraft ideology with Merikoski, combining innovative technology and sustainable production.
In 2023, Kalevala took yet another step towards more sustainable design by launching the Nolla jewelry series made from domestic biomaterial innovation. In the series designed by Taru Harmaala Chaloff, biomaterial is combined with 100% recycled silver. The jewelry's inspiration and its colors also come directly from nature.
Our Kalevala Preloved service based on a circular economy was launched in 2021 and it immediately became a success. Preloved brings forgotten jewelry within everyone's reach again - jewelry is made to be used.
In 2023, Kalevala Jewelry was the first Finnish jewelry brand to participate in Copenhagen Fashion Week together with fashion designer Rolf Ekroth. The secondhand jewelry of the pioneering Kalevala Preloved collection is part of the joint collection of Rolf Ekroth and Kalevala Jewelry. The circular economy is an important part of Rolf Ekroth's design philosophy, and that is why the designer has been inspired by Kalevala Preloved secondhand jewelry as part of his new Missing collection, which was also presented at fashion weeks.
