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Modem

@modem.works

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Historically, signet rings served as personal signatures. By setting a distinct, unrepeatable stone in every piece, QUARTZ brings identity back into the tangible.

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QUARTZ pairs the mathematics of cryptography with the immediacy of real-world meetings.

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For the 2026 edition of the Rimowa Design Prize at Berlin’s Kulturforum, Modem designed The Workshop — a scenography conceived as a space in progress, where the exhibition itself becomes a physical expression of the design process: deliberate, unresolved, and open to be explored.

The Workshop draws its formal language from creative workplaces: ateliers, studios, production floors. Trolleys, tables, and mobile storage units became the structural vocabulary, each paired with elevated and unexpected materials that introduced a deliberate friction between the utilitarian and the refined.

Partner: RIMOWA
Communications Agency: LOEWS
Scenography design: Harmo
Physical production: Satis&Fy
Photography: Simon Menges & Nino Tugushi

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Crafted in the heart of Switzerland, the QUARTZ prototype is made entirely by hand.

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The modular display system for On brings product presentation and storytelling into a single structure.

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Every stone in the QUARTZ ring contains natural crystalline inclusions forged over millions of years in the Swiss Alps, creating a “chaos cryptography” too complex for any algorithm or process to replicate.

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For the Movement Lab in Shenzen, Modem worked alongside On’s architecture team to develop a series of permanent retail fixtures that seamlessly blend display technology with material expression. Building on the store’s architectural identity, digital storytelling becomes a textural layer woven into the environment, extended through localized content and a bespoke Chinese typographic system.

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Beneath the quartz-made identifier sits enterprise-grade security: cryptographic keys stored on-ring, paired uniquely to its user via finger-vein biometrics.

QUARTZ introduces a proof-of-personhood protocol, housed in a signet ring that is activated through the ancient ritual of meeting in person.

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When two people meet in person and shake hands, the QUARTZ ring generates a Shared Secret via NFC, creating an unbreakable, encrypted bond between two people.

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QUARTZ is a vision exploring how to restore online trust in the age of AI.

It introduces a proof-of-personhood protocol, housed in a signet ring that is activated through the ancient ritual of meeting in person.

A project by Modem and Retinaa

Vision, Research, Creative Direction: @Modem + @retinaa.ch
Writing, Research: @pjmaughann
Jewellery Design: @alicia.rosselet
Ring Casting: @arnaudzill
Mineral Prospecting + Gem Cutting: @charles_centhuit
Still Life Photography: @robin_bucher_
Lifestyle Photography: @matthewtammaro
Photoshoot Production: @current.production
Post Production: @purple_martin_studio
Visual Identity & illustrations: @retinaa.ch

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In a world where everything can be faked, how do you prove you’re human?

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Introducing Wanderlust — an olfactory invitation by Unifrom™️ and Terra to reconnect with both ourselves and our surroundings.

Available at unifrom.com

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