Great Characters Homage to Queen Limited Edition 30

In the rich history of rock music, few names have shone out as consistently as that of Queen. With a career spanning over five decades, the band is one of the world’s most successful of all time. During this period, Queen came to embody the power of musical creativity and most of their songs topped the charts for weeks on end. They created their own musical universe, made up of a combination of hard rock, glam rock, pop, funk and opera, shattering the boundaries between the genres. Honouring the very last Queen album, the titles of three of its songs decorate the solid Au 750 white gold skeleton overlay on the cap: Mother Love, Made In Heaven and Too Much Love Will Kill You. The grooves on the contrasting blue lacquer underneath mirror the exact same grooves of the album Made in Heaven. The colour progression from dark to pale blue and back to dark blue is a reminder of the colour scheme of the album cover. In putting together their albums, the four members of the band pushed the artistic and technical possibilities of the recording studio to the absolute limit. But seeing the band live was quite something else. Their sensational live shows – they played more than 700 shows from 1970 to 1986 – were a spectacle in their own right that attained legend status. Mercury himself, known for his flamboyant stage costumes, would often slip into the guise of a Commedia dell’Arte figure, the Harlequin. His famous tight-fitting unitard, with its black-and-white diamond pattern, underlined his unconventional stage persona. The Great Characters Homage to Queen Limited Edition 30 borrows this rhomboidal design for the barrel, artfully interpreted in the form of solid Au 750 white gold diamond shapes over blue lacquer. A band of blue sapphires marks the transition from the barrel to the white gold-coated cone, whose shape is reminiscent of the volume and tone control knobs of an electric guitar – the instrument that was a key element in Queen’s unmistakable sound. Embedded in the tip of the cone is a unique inlay made from wood taken from Roger Taylor’s original drumsticks, intricately woven with guitar strings that Brian May himself once played. As a tribute to the album Made In Heaven, and to mark the 30th anniversary of its release, the edition is limited to just 30 pieces. Borrowing from the cover, the handcrafted, rhodium-coated solid Au 750 gold nib depicts the silhouette of Freddie Mercury in one of his most iconic, triumphant stage poses. In recognition of the important part played by each individual band member, their signatures grace the forepart of the writing jewel. A ring made of precious blue sapphires winds around the solid Au 750 white gold cap, above which the dome features the Montblanc emblem composed of blue sapphires set in pavé. In memory of the band’s electrifying stage presence, the clip is designed to resemble a microphone stand – a simple prop used to such spectacular effect in live performances.