Hermès New Bond Street Gold Leaf Gilding
Gold LeafKensington Gilders were delighted to adorn the lift shaft enclosure within the new Hermès showroom on New Bond Street, one of London's most prestigious retail addresses. The brief called for a finish worthy of the surroundings, and we gilded the ornate wrought iron cage in 23.5 carat Italian classic gold leaf, chosen for its rich, warm tone and exceptional quality.
The lift enclosure is itself a striking piece of decorative ironwork, with a fanned sunburst arch, a swagged and tasselled frieze, and a run of oval rosette bosses and finials descending the full height of the cage. Every one of these cast and wrought details had to be picked out individually in gold, so the gilding followed the contours of the ironwork closely: sunburst rays, scrollwork, rosettes and drop finials all received the same careful attention to ensure a consistent, even finish across a highly varied surface.
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We used oil gilding with loose Italian leaf for this project, a technique well suited to metalwork of this kind. Ironwork is unforgiving of any inconsistency in size or lay, since every reflective surface catches the light differently, so each element was sized, gilded and burnished in turn, working section by section around the cage rather than attempting to cover large areas at once.
Working within a live retail fit-out on New Bond Street brought its own demands. Space around the lift shaft was tight, other trades were completing the surrounding staircase and panelling at the same time, and the gilded ironwork needed to be protected from dust and knocks until the rest of the joinery and decoration was complete. The finished piece now forms a striking centrepiece to the entrance hall, exactly as luxurious as its Bond Street setting demands.
