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Arizona Driver May - June 2008
Body Candy
Performance-inspired jewelry to get your motor running
By Nick Calderone
Photos: Randall Bohl Photograpy
Going fast and looking good create a tightly wound marriage of two viscerally pleasing things. Speed and aesthetics. Any high velocity exotic worth its Heidi Klum good looks can back up its overtly sexy claims with the ability to turn Goodyears to smoke in 3 seconds flat. But is it the looks or the performance that makes an F430 or a Carrera CT, for example, lustful? What if you could take some of the sexy bits of an exotic luxo-racer and wear them? Would it make you feel and look racier?
Cornelis Hollander began to ponder that question and was fascinated by the idea of transforming the streamlined looks of modern sports cars into a piece of jewelry. Mr. Hollander gained his inspiration from his hobby—racing motorcycles and high performance cars. Hollander's hands are tuned to the delicate nature of crafting and designing innovative jewelry. Born in the Netherlands, he honed his skills with jewels in England and South Africa before parking himself in Old Town Scottsdale in 1984. His success in the crowded Scottsdale arts district is evident simply by considering his longevity in that fickle and ever-evolving neighborhood. Now, his well-established line of jewels is distributed all over the world, and everything continues to be made right in Scottsdale.
On an April evening, the gallery is filled with the friendly chatter of blings lovers and clinking wine glasses. The front doors of Hollander's store are flung wide and flanked by three smiling beauties welcoming the night's art walkers. Scottsdale hosts a stroll through its arts district every Thursday of the month, and Hollander's gallery ebbs and flows with shoppers and gawkers anxious to see his latest creations. Hollander's windows sparkle with endless variations of body candy from his years of tinkering, but this evening art lovers are drawn in by gems much less delicate than gold and diamonds.
Three glinting examples of street jewelry flex in front of Hollander's store, stopping passersby and making them think "wouldn't you like to look as good as that?" The attention getters are all from Stuttgart... a few of Porsche's finest renditions of sex appeal and speed.
A 996 and 997 dressed in sleek silver look fast standing still. The third is Carrera GT, inked from targa top to rims in menacing black. The cars are courtesy of Evolution Motorsports, a Tempe-based performance shop that specializes in taking the world's hottest rides and turning them into insanely tuned luxury exotics. The three cars attracting eyes tonight are like screaming banshees in wolves' clothing. These are fast cars to begin with, but the GT. for example, has had about $50 thousand worth of upgrades, which lets this half-million dollar speedster run the famed Texas mile at a record-breaking 185mph.
The skeleton of the GT is a framework of stiff carbon fiber. When woven, baked and polished to a sheen, the basic black element takes on a beauty of form and function few manmade fibers have ever achieved. That's one of the exotic car elements that intrigued Hollander. He was inspired, he says unconsciously, by some of the splendor of sports cars. The idea of automotive-influenced jewels came to him years ago, but only recently did he drop the hammer on the idea. In three months, he created an entire line of race inspired jewelry.
The Carbon Concept line comprises an assortment of fifty different pieces, from rings and cuff links to pendants and bracelets. Each is made of sterling silver and all incorporate black diamonds and carbon fiber. Slipping on one of Hollander's new rings feels like putting your favorite car in your pocket. The ring's main structure combines smooth curves with sharp angles. Holes pierce the shank of many of the rings, giving them a lightweight, race-inspired look much like a vented rotor or a classic GT steering wheel. The black diamonds punctuating the silver are reminiscent of lug nuts, and the carbon fiber centerpiece looks like a racecar's unpainted hood or deck lid. Several pieces are dual gender, and the prices are relatively modest, beginning around $400.
If you're the kind of car nut who kisses your wheels goodnight, or just a fan of all things fast and sleek, these modestly priced jewels will help keep the smell of your last burn out and the rumble of your exhaust fresh in your mind.
For more information:
Cornelis Hollander Designs, Inc.
4151 N. Marshall Way
Scottsdale AZ 85251
480-941-1136
Evolution MotorSports
1625 E. Weber Drive
Tempe AZ 85281
480-317-9911
