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Pforzheim, Germany—Renowned jewelry designer Gert Hellmuth died August 16 after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. He was 53.

The gentle designer with the curly blond hair presented an incongruous image to the sometimes-edgy jewelry he designed, including those created for a partnership with punk’s favorite fashion doyenne Vivienne Westwood in the mid-2000s. Every

piece from Hellmuth’s atelier maintained his rigid standards of quality and excellence of craftsmanship, leading to his well-known tagline, “Simply Good.”

Hellmuth’s trademark crocodile-patterned jewelry was based on a design first created by his great-grandfather, Karl Friedrich Hellmuth, who produced crocodile handbags and accessories as early as 1870, and his father, who continued the tradition with crocodile watch straps. The company makes a wide variety of designs including large statement pieces—many of which incorporate crocodile patterns in an abstract way that gives the jewelry a luxe feel—and customers have embraced his modern interpretation of it, from classic gold and gemstone pieces to silver skulls and peace signs set with pavé diamonds and gems. The celebrity page on his website boasts an impressive roster that could be its own red-carpet event: Hilary Swank, Anne Hathaway, Ali Larter, Julianne Hough, Jessica Simpson, and many more. He also celebrated his love of dogs with the Hellmuth Hund collection of dog-themed jewelry (for people).

Michael Pucci, whose Los Angeles-based Abbiamo Group handles sales and marketing of the brand in the United States, also was a close friend to the designer.

“He was really a great guy--and all you ever saw in public was really him-- as nice as could be!” Pucci told The Centurion. He related a conversation he had with the designer after it became evident that the tumor had come back and the outcome wasn’t going to be good.

“We started taking about how much he accomplished in this industry when most designers have not had the ‘luck’ or acclaim he has had over his short 35 years in the jewelry business,” said Pucci. Indeed, the designer used his renowned “Simply Good” jewelry tagline to also sum up his life. With his trademark soft-spoken modesty, he kept his illness a secret.

On a personal note, I met Gert many, many years ago in Basel, and when he came to Centurion after that, we chatted about two of his favorite must-haves on every visit to the United States: Oreo cookies and In ‘N Out burgers. While most Europeans shake their heads at American eating habits, Gert loved Oreos as much as any American. Additionally, every trip to Arizona or California for him included a stop (or two) at an In ‘N Out. The chain doesn’t have any restaurants on the East Coast, but he convinced me that I needed to try one. Soon after, on a trip to visit family in southern California, I talked my aunt into going to In 'N Out for lunch. From that point forward I have made it a point to go for a burger whenever I'm on the West coast, and have always thought fondly of Gert every time.

Hellmuth is survived by his wife, Angelika, who will carry on the company with her son from a previous marriage, CEO Daniel Maffert.