Gold-plated earrings Three matches by Marek Piekarczyk

Gold-plated earrings from the Three Matches collection, inspired by the TSA song of the same name. Made in collaboration with Marek Piekarczyk.

Gold-plated, enamel.

Dimensions: length of a match: 5 cm

The “Three Matches” collection was created by RD Bijoux, a French brand of luxury fashion jewelry in collaboration with Marek Piekarczyk, famous Polish rockstar and frontman of the TSA.

The “Three matches” collection was inspired by the famous TSA song and chosen for the jewelry because of the beauty of this ballad – one of the most distinctive and beautiful rock ballads ever – and because of the song’s history and its place in Marek Piekarczyk’s career. After all, it was with this song that the artist’s career in the TSA began, albeit in a somewhat surprising way: during a concert at the Opera Lesna in Sopot on July 12, 1981, the artist was supposed to come out on stage and bow to the audience so that they could meet the band’s new frontman. But Piekarczyk improvised – he sung the “Three Matches”.

Thus, the song “Three Matchsticks” is a cult song – an inseparable part of the legend of the artist himself, but also of the Polish music scene and rock in general. The choice of “Three Matchsticks” was therefore obvious when creating jewelry for Marek Piekarczyk. But the collection also fits into the broader context of RD Bijoux’ activities: from the artistic aspect to Polish-French relations.

The words of the song were written by Konstanty Ildefons Galczynski, who actually translated them from French: the original text, titled “Paris at night”. It was written by Jacques Prévert, one of the most revered French poets of the 20th century. It comes from the book of poems “Paroles”, published in 1946, which consists of a wide variety of texts – many of them are a protest against war and violence, others celebrate everyday life, some speak of love. The poem “Paris at Night” seemingly falls into the latter category: it evokes an intimate scene between lovers who discover and remember each other’s bodies, in the romantic setting of nighttime Paris – the city of lovers.

However, there is also a second, darker interpretation of these verses: the one lighting the matches is a soldier, while the one observing him is a sniper, who notices his victim when the first match is lit, takes aim with the second match, and shoots with the third, followed by “total stillness” (“total darkness” in the original text) – death.

This ambiguous, moving and beautiful text has inspired many artists: in addition to Galczynski’s translation and Piekarczyk’s song, it has been interpreted by Yves Montand, among others. The “Three Matches” collection is co-created with Marek Piekarczyk – so it draws inspiration from two artistic sources: poetry and music. Thus, it fits perfectly into the profile of RD Bijoux, a French luxury jewelry brand inspired by art in the broadest sense. In the RD Bijoux’ interpretation, the eponymous three matches – a utilitarian object with a simple form, but immense possibilities (matches can save lives, but can also become a source of destruction) – retain their shape, although it is refined and embellished, making it a true work of art.

The “Three Matchsticks” collection is an example of an unusual dialogue between different forms of art – poetry and music – and applied art such as jewelry. The ambiguous meaning of the poem, which was the starting point for the collection, gives it an additional, moving dimension. But above all, the necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings from this collection are beautiful objects: surprising and universal in their simplicity, yet original and unique.