Splendour Champagne Sabre by Ivan Venkov is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 Silver A' Design Award in Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design Competition Category.
SilverKitchenware· 2025
Splendour Champagne Sabre
by Ivan Venkov
Client: Mod Luxe
Silver A' Design Award Winner in Kitchenware Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #162259The Design
About Splendour Champagne Sabre
The Splendour Champagne Sabre is designed with precision and balanced functionality. Its minimalist form incorporates a precisely angled blade, ensuring a clean and controlled sabrage. The calibrated blade geometry optimizes performance, seamlessly integrating form and function. This contemporary reinterpretation of a traditional tool emphasizes clean lines, carefully considered proportions, and a meticulously engineered weight distribution, reinforcing the intrinsic relationship between design and purpose.
The Recognition
About the Silver A' Design Award
Splendour Champagne Sabre is a Silver A' Design Award winner, an extraordinarily prestigious recognition granted to top-of-the-line, gorgeous, and impressive designs. Silver winners are tremendously brilliant and exceedingly creative works that illustrate the outstanding expertise, talent, and acuity of their designers. Splendour Champagne Sabre is expected to be a wonderful, showpiece work that is remarkably professional and profoundly innovative. This Silver A' Design Award-winning design is a highly notable, admired invention that benefits and advances the boundaries of art, science, design, and technology. Splendour Champagne Sabre is a vastly envied creation that evokes desires, introduces positive feelings, and sparks amazement and wonderment.
Where to Get It
Luxury Barware and Lifestyle Essentials
We craft exquisite barware and lifestyle essentials that transform everyday moments into extraordinary experiences. Our collection features meticulously designed pieces from premium materials, blending artistic innovation with superior craftsmanship. Each MOD LUXE creation elevates modern celebrations with timeless elegance.
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Grand Interview
Your innovative approach to modernizing the traditional art of sabrage through the Splendour Champagne Sabre is remarkable - could you share the journey of balancing contemporary aesthetics with ceremonial functionality in your design process?
The design journey for the SPLENDOUR Champagne Sabre began with a clear objective - to honour the timeless art of sabrage while reinventing it for the modern connoisseur. We approached the challenge as a study in balance, ensuring the sabre would serve as both a precise functional instrument and an object of sculptural beauty. Every decision was guided by the desire to simplify rather than embellish: historical ornamentation was stripped away, replaced by sleek, minimalist lines that reflect contemporary refinement.Each detail - from the blade’s geometry to the polished finish -was tested through repeated prototyping to achieve harmony between form and performance. The result is a sabre that preserves the ceremony’s authenticity while aligning with modern luxury sensibilities, transforming sabrage into an experience that feels both effortless and profoundly elegant.
The Splendour Champagne Sabre's precise blade geometry and weight distribution are particularly intriguing - how did your research with sommeliers and focus groups influence these specific engineering decisions?
Refining the engineering of the SPLENDOUR Champagne Sabre was a research-driven process shaped by direct collaboration with sommeliers and diverse user groups. Their insights confirmed that precise blade geometry and balanced weight are critical for effective, controlled sabrage. Even minor shifts in angle or grip could affect performance, prompting us to fine-tune the sabre's center of mass and blade profile for seamless motion and accuracy.Through extensive prototyping and testing, we arrived at an ergonomic handle design that delivers both comfort and confidence - whether in the hands of a seasoned sommelier or a first-time user. This fusion of professional expertise and user-centered refinement ensured that the final sabre offers intuitive control and elevates the overall sabrage experience with both elegance and precision.
The 12-month development period for the Splendour Champagne Sabre suggests extensive prototyping - what were the most unexpected discoveries that emerged during your material testing and design refinement phases?
One of the most valuable discoveries during our 12-month development process was the critical role of precise weight distribution in the sabrage experience. Early prototypes revealed that even slight imbalances - whether blade-heavy or handle-light - disrupted the natural flow of motion and undermined user confidence. Through repeated testing with sommeliers and focus groups, we learned that the center of mass had to be meticulously calibrated to achieve both control and ease.This insight led us to refine not only the sabre’s external geometry but also its internal structure. We carefully adjusted the layering and density of the carbon fiber and resin composite in the handle to create a weight profile that feels intuitive and stable in hand. This equilibrium became a defining feature of the SPLENDOUR Sabre - enabling a smooth, single-motion strike and delivering a performance that is both effortless and faithful to the elegance of the ritual.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- Supreme function meets stunning elegance in the Splendour Champagne Sabre by Mod Luxe, a fusion of artistic innovation and superior craftsmanship. This modern interpretation of the traditional sabrage tool enhances celebrations with its meticulously crafted design from premium materials. Seamlessly blending artistic innovation with superior craftsmanship, its ergonomic design ensures effortless execution, while its exquisite details create a cherished keepsake.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The Champagne Sabre Specs:
Length: 480 mm
Width: (at the widest point) 50 mm
Blade Material: Stainless Steel
Handle Material: Carbon Fiber / Resin
Product Display Material: Wood - Tags
- #ModLuxeMoments #IndulgeinStyle #SabrageWithCare
- Production Technology
- The Splendour Champagne Sabre is the result of a meticulous design process that skilfully addressed the outlined challenges. We incorporated sleek, minimalist lines and a contemporary aesthetic into the design to modernise the traditional sabre. High-grade stainless steel was chosen for its durability and polished finish, enhancing the sabre’s functionality and visual appeal. Ergonomics were prioritised by engineering a balanced weight distribution along the sabre's handle, ensuring it is both comfortable to hold and precise in its performance. This ergonomic design allows for a firm grip and controlled sabrage process, making the experience accessible and enjoyable even for novices
- Design Challenge
- The design challenge for the Mod Luxe Champagne Sabre was to reinvent a traditional tool with a modern aesthetic while ensuring exceptional functionality and durability. The primary challenge was integrating contemporary design elements that would appeal to modern users without compromising the sabre’s traditional effectiveness. Further, the design needed to balance artistic elegance with practical ergonomics, ensuring that the sabre was not only visually appealing but also comfortable and effective to use in the ceremonial art of sabrage.
- Research
- Our research used mixed methods to refine the Splendour Sabre's design. Objectives included enhancing functionality and aesthetics. Data from surveys, focus groups, and prototyping informed the process. Testing handle variations with multiple groups and consulting sommeliers on weight and design led to the final ergonomic shape. Various blade materials were tested for optimal steel hardness and corrosion resistance. Customer feedback influenced product display and personalisation options. Insights inspired the Mod Luxe team to bring the refined Champagne Sabre design to life.
- Inspiration
- The idea behind the design of the Splendour Champagne Sabre was to reinvent a traditional tool with a modern aesthetic while ensuring exceptional functionality and durability. We aimed to integrate contemporary design elements that appeal to modern users without compromising the sabre’s traditional effectiveness. The design needed to balance artistic elegance with practical ergonomics, ensuring that the sabre is visually appealing, comfortable, and effective to use during The Art of Sabrage.
- Project Duration
- 12 months development and prototyping project duration
- Operation Flow
- The art of sabrage is a unique and exciting way to celebrate special moments. Our step-by-step guide is designed to enhance the sabrage experience, even for beginners.
The Splendour Champagne Sabre User Guide:
1. Chill the Champagne:
* Begin by chilling the bottle in a refrigerator or ice bucket to around 3-5°C to maintain internal pressure and minimize foaming.
2. Prepare the Bottle:
* Remove the foil and wire cage.
* Locate the seam (the vertical line where the bottle halves are fused; this is the weakest point and our target for sabrage).
3. Find Your Grip:
* Firmly grip the base, tilting it 30-45 degrees away from people.
* Support the base of the bottle with your non-dominant hand.
* Grip the champagne sabre with your dominant hand.
4. Slide and Strike:
* Place the edge of the sabre on the seam near the base of the bottle's neck.
* Slide the sabre along the seam to the lip without striking.
* Aim to hit the lip (the ring around the top of the neck) with the blunt edge of the sabre.
* Apply firm pressure and slide the sabre up the seam in one smooth, swift motion.
5. Follow Through:
* Continue the motion as the bottle opens to let the cork fly off smoothly. Maintain grip on the base to control spillage.
* Allow a bit of champagne to flow to rinse away any glass shards.
* Pour and enjoy your celebratory bubbly!
Safety Tips:
* Choose the Right Bottle: Saber only high-quality, traditionally manufactured champagne bottles with thick glass and standard shapes. Avoid bottles with visible defects or irregular forms.
* Maintain enough distance around: Ensure there's enough space for the cork to fly without causing harm or damage to others.
* Never hold the bottle by its neck after sabering: It can be slippery and slide out of your hand.
Environmental Considerations:
Keep environments clean by collecting all corks and glass fragments. Near water bodies, use a sabrage chain to prevent cork contamination. Embrace responsible sabrage with #SabrageWithCare and ensure a clean environment! - Team Members
- Volodymyr Iatsentyi
Ivan Venkov - Image Credits
- All Images by Mod Luxe
Lead Product Designer: Ivan Venkov
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