The city of Sikyon in the northeast of the Peloponnese enjoyed an outstanding reputation in the ancient Greek world as a cultural metropolis—among other things, one of the most important art schools of antiquity was located there. Thanks to the fertile soil of the surrounding countryside—famous for olive cultivation—and its highly developed craftsmanship, the city was also very prosperous. This prosperity enabled Sicyon to operate one of the region’s most productive mints, whose coins were valued throughout the Mediterranean as a stable medium of exchange. A silver coin from Sicyon, dating from 500 to 400 BCE, serves as the model for this earring. On the obverse, the front side, it depicts a flying dove. The dove, Sicyon’s most important heraldic animal, is also closely associated with the goddess Aphrodite—one of her most significant temple complexes stood in the city. The reverse, or back, features an olive branch and the Greek letter sigma (Σ), which in the Peloponnesian variant of the Greek alphabet was often written like a modern “M” and represents the first letter of Sicyon. Ménard crafts the earring from 925 sterling silver.

When Gisela and Detlef Menard founded their own company in 1981, the focus was still on the sale of antique-style jewelry. It has long since become an established family business that stands for timeless design and high quality. To achieve this, Ménard harmoniously combined aspects of craftsmanship, function and design. The clasps on the necklaces and bracelets, for example, are not just a necessary constructive evil, but in their simple yet effective design are sometimes pieces of jewelry in their own right. No wonder Ménard has protected them under design law. The necklaces and bracelets made from the colorful Murano glass beads, which come from the lagoon island near Venice, famous for its glass art, are almost a trademark. And of course Ménard also uses classic jewelry materials such as pearls.

Due to the high working and social standards, short transport routes and technical expertise, Ménard relies largely on Germany as a location: the silver clasps, for example, come from the gold town of Pforzheim, stones and chains from the gemstone town of Idar-Oberstein. It is worth noting that Ménard works specifically with refineries that only use recycled silver and gold for its precious metals.