Bespoke Rolls-Royce Phantom Features Specially Commissioned Sapphire Astrum Gallery
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has revealed an exclusive Phantom in UAE. Created by the Bespoke Collective division which is a team of specialist designers, engineers and craftspeople at Goodwood, this one-of-a-kind Phantom Astrum is to be delivered to a customer in Abu Dhabi.
The car’s centrepiece is the specially-commissioned Sapphire Astrum Gallery designed and made by leading British contemporary silversmith and jeweller Richard Fox. Fox had also worked on the trophy for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Displayed behind a single pane of glass running the full width of the fascia, the artwork portrays a starburst of solid silver spears radiating from a brilliant-cut diamond set in platinum. Each spear is polished and soldered in place by hand, and tipped with a pear-cut sapphire. The stones are encased in Bleu de Nuit, a rich sapphire lacquer that reflects and intensifies their magnificent colours. The backing is made using the guilloché technique, in which a highly precise, intricate repeating pattern is engraved into the surface using a special lathe.
“Astrum has an immediate impression of weightless suspension, almost as though gravity does not exist in this Gallery piece. The central diamond, encased in platinum, is like a star, floating in the depths of space – with a starburst of solid silver spears. The spears also give an incredible sense of movement and focus, in the way that they radiate from the central brilliant-cut diamond,” said Richard Fox, Jewellery Specialist and Founder of Fox Silver.
To complement the Gallery, the dashboard clock has a sterling silver surround decorated with a guilloché pattern, with a matching Sapphire Blue lacquer overlay giving depth and iridescence to the clockface.
Meanwhile, the Rolls-Royce Phantom Sapphire Astrum exterior is finished in a sophisticated Milori Sapphire with a hand-painted Tan coachline, and body-coloured wheel centres with a single Tan pinstripe.
“The Gallery is a feature unique to Phantom where owners can display a commissioned work of art that captures their individual tastes, interests and character – the ultimate expression of luxury and personalisation available in a motor car. Created exclusively for Abu Dhabi, the Phantom Sapphire Astrum is a spectacular example of just what is possible: we are delighted to share this magnificent cosmic vista with our clients, and trust it will inspire their own creative visions,” commented César Habib, Regional Director, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Middle East and Africa.
