On Jewels: An Appreciation of the Art

I flip flop, but so do they

As you can probably see from some of my past posts, I spend a lot of time thinking about what a jeweler is, what constitutes 'good' jewelry and how one 'should' market their work.

To that end, I picked up the latest edition of Vanity Fair today, which included the Plus Jewellery Issue.  I was both pleased and disappointed by what I found. 

What pleased me was the article on young jewellers by Annable Davidson, which mentioned a few of my favorite young London jewellers, Tomasz Donocik and Nutre Arayavanish (who I have previously blogged about here.) As well as current media darlings in the contemporary world David Goodwin and Jo Hayes-Ward, who have featured in How to Spend It and exhibitions such as Dazzle and Rising Stars. 

(aside:  I am so glad to see that Tomasz now has a wonderful new website, as it is great to be able to find his work online)

         

I was also pleased to see mentions of other all time favorites: Shaun Leane and Wendy Ramshaw, as well as interesting pieces on Verdura and the Lesotho Promise diamond.

But what really irked me was the interchangeability of what they call contemporary jewellery, and the absence of a discussion of the different between an excellent jewellery, an excellent designer and an excellent marketeer. This is a subject that I often find myself going back to and trying to blog about, but can't seem to without sounding like an utter lunatic.  But I will try here.

When I was in art school I took a class on history of design.  We studied everything from the evolution of the fork and the design of the toaster to the difference between an 'artist' and a 'craftsperson'. I never really thought that there was a difference when I was a practicing jeweller as I was designing and crafting my own pieces.  I felt that a person practicing a craft such as jewellery was also an artist. However, now that I have worked with Fine Jewellery, both antique and modern, as well as working closely with famous contemporary jewellers and jewellery designers, I find that jewellery is one of those areas where is it important to recognize that there is a difference and that there can also be a blurring. 

I see many distinctions in the jewellery world which are all too often lumped into one title, Jeweller.

 There are master craftspeople, who work for large jewellery houses or behind big designers, who make exquisite work which would make you weep but do not design the jewels themselves.  Think:  the fingers behind Lalique, JAR, Victoire de Castellane's Belladona collection etc.

There are amazing designers who do not and/or could not make the jewels themselves.  Think: (all three mentioned in Vanity Fair) Verurda, Victoire de Castellane herself, or up and coming Jessica McCormack.

And there are designer/makers who make or have made amazing pieces which they designed themselves.  Think: Fred Rich, Wendy Ramshaw, Shaun Leane, or those young artists mentioned above, Tomasz and Nutre.

Lastly, there are those that I do not favor and will name the 'Great Marketeers'.  These are celebrities or socialites or just amazing PR people, who are neither great designers nor jewellery makers, but yet find themselves labeled Jeweller because they put their name to a line dully designed, expensive and often mediocre quality jewels.  Think:  Sho, Philippa Holland, and to be honest, though he may not have started this way, Theo Fennell (see and upcoming post The Emperor's New Clothes).  They have a great story (and great funding behind them) and allure which other celebrities and socialites cling to and before you know it they are a the current IT Jeweller'.

I think that Vanity Fair, jewellery journalists and jewellery lovers owe it to themselves and their readers to see a distinction between these categories in order to appreciate each one for the distinct skill and talent that they bring to the world of jewellery.  To lump them all together discredits the others and devalues (financially) the work that they have to offer.

That said, I love a bit of each, and have been know to fall equally in love with a mass produced bauble as a one of a kind masterpiece.  That is my flip flop.

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Bites from CarrotBox

I am still just getting back into the swing of things and have just looked at one of my favorite jewelry sites,  The Carrot Box.  It has been a while since I have looked at this blog, but as always, I am amazed by the amount of effort that the author must put into looking for new and exciting rings.  Who knew that there were so many rings!  Here is a smattering of those that I found interesting:

Virginie Bois

e.m.

Galerie Rheingold

Michael Dale Bernard

Moa Andersson

Moon Young Shin

Sarah Herriot

I will definitely have to blog about some of these jewellers individually as they are worth it!  It is also worth mention of Contura for pure ingenuity.  They can create jewels based on the contour of the face of a loved one. I have seen the fingerprint necklaces which can be commissioned from Gerd Rothmann and always thought that they were a wonderful and understated way to 'keep your loved one close'  (much more interesting than a locket) and now Contura offers and even more interesting and innovative way to do that.

Thank you Carrot Box for the inspiration!

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Butterfly Wings

Butterfly wings have often been used in jewelry, as have beetles, bird heads, hair and fur.  Today I have chosen two jewelers who use butterfly wings in a contemporary way.

Jennifer Trask, a metalsmith from the New Paltz area, makes striking jewels with butterfly wings and other natural materials.  She has a lovely sense of color, texture and composition.  The way that she uses the veining of the wing or a wing set off center is painterly in fashion and so much more than merely a Victorian interest in displaying nature.

Trask's Modular series (not pictured here) is an interesting way to mix colors, metals and 'stones' in a way that is most appealing to the wearer.  Her website illustrates many lovely examples of how this can be done.

On Etsy you can find Neile Cooper's butterfly jewelry, or on her website. Neile is and was originally a stain glass artist.  This is evident in her jewelry.  She treats the wings like a piece of colored glass and sets them in silver alloy and glass. Her website says, "Butterflies symbolically and literally signify rebirth. Neile helps butterflies achieve and additional transformation."

This monarch cluster necklace was inspired by a trip to Santa Cruz where the artist saw wintering butterflies clustered in the trees.  Her pieces have a nice casual and wearable feel but with a splash of unusual natural beauty.  She also does large panels which are a combination of stained glass and butterflies.

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A Word About Enamel

This post will concern jewelers working in enamel, and I could not write about enamel artists without mentioning two of the historical greats, Carl Faberge (left) and Rene Lalique (right). Carl Faberge was the jeweler to the Russian Tzars and produced incredible work from the ornate "Faberge Eggs" to simple yet excruciatingly elegant pieces such as the vesta case below.

Lalique was a great jeweler and glass artist who was a pioneer in working in both the Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. His enamel work was amazing, but be sure to look at his work with bone and horn as well!

Current jewelers working in enamel display an endless variety and imagination and I am sure that this will not be the last time that I blog about enamel. However, for this post I have chosen the following artists to write about: Fred Rich, Magick and Gallen Benson, all chosen for their unique ways of approaching enameling.

  Fred is a British enamel artist, working outside of London.  He  creates extraordinary whimsical and brightly colored jewels and silverware. The craftsmanship of his work is evident in the handling of any of his pieces, which are elegantly finished to the highest quality.  But the most amazing part of his work is the carefully textured surfaces under the delicately transparent enamel surface.

Magick 's enamel jewelry is the creation of Falcher Fusager and Nadia Fusager. I have included them in this blog, even though the style of the jewelry is not really my taste, as the enamel work is breathtaking.  I was drawn to the brilliant colors and stain glass like quality of their work.

  Lastly, a new find for me and just my type of thing as his work is full of humor, is Gallen  Benson. I am drawn to Gallen's work as it is inspired by ancient jewelry but infused with a design sense which is distinctly modern.  Peruse his website and you will see modern examples of pietre dure (only executed in enamel), and renaissance themed necklaces etc.

 

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A Touch of the Unusual

While researching for this blog I have discovered quite a few jewelers who are bravely unusual.  I love it when I see a jewel for the first time and it shocks me. A sense of the unusual in technique or content and often humor is an excellent inclusion in a jewel.

Firstly, an artist whom I have found in a number of places, including my new favorite website Esty and many galleries and books, is Arthur Hash.  Arthur's designs have a clean and fresh feel to them along with a healthy sense of humor.  Take a look at his website and see his pile of rings made up of sections of faces, his "Blamo" ring for when you are feeling like Batman, or his coffee stain brooch. Arthur works mostly in monotones and simplified lines and shapes so that nothing interferes with his message. As he mentions in his artist statement, these recent pieces, which I have listed here, are a combination of the new technological advances being utilized by the jewelry world, such as water jet cutting and 3D scanning to name a few.

It is only fitting then that I mention David Watkins again, as he is one of the founding fathers of the use of non-traditional materials and techniques in jewelry.  David is the Professor and Director of the Centre for Jewellery Research at the Royal College of Art in London.  David's work is held at the V&A, Museum of Modern Art (Tokyo), Museum of Arts and Design in NY among others.  David has been at the forefront of the use of unusual materials and design since the 70s when he and wife Wendy Ramshaw collaborated on two jewelry companies, Optik Art Jewellery, and Something Special. David has been and continues to be an inspiration to jewelers everywhere.

Another unusual jeweller who's work surprises me every time is British jeweler Adam Paxon who makes acrylic jewellery which is luminous and seems as if it is wet and somehow alive.  He does describe his work as humorous, but also says that he attempts to move away from the novel into the suggestive, and I think that he definitely attains this. His creature-like jewels take on a moving form as if they were about to drip, crawl  or dance.  They glow with brilliant colors which I can only image change in every new environment.

Lastly, speaking of the unusual try Margaux Lange who also writes an interesting blog about her work and experiences called Midge's Mind.  I find her work funny and fun to look at. Maybe that is because I was an avid Barbie collector at one point, not that I would ever have let anyone cut their hair, let alone their faces!                                        

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