Featured designer: Marianne Hunter - Reinventing Art Nouveau

Text: Sandra Kemppainen, Marianne Hunter

Photos: George Post, Hap Sakwa, Marianne Hunter

Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. 

The name “Art Nouveau” is French for “new art”. 

A reaction to academic art of the 19th century, it was inspired by natural forms and structures, not only in flowers and plants but also in curved lines. Architects tried to harmonize with the natural environment. 

It is also considered a philosophy of design of furniture, which was designed according to the whole building and made part of ordinary life.

Jewellery of the Art Nouveau period revitalised the jeweller’s art, with nature as the principal source of inspiration, complemented by new levels of virtuosity in enamelling and the introduction of new materials, such as opals and semi-precious stones. 

The widespread interest in Japanese art and the more specialised enthusiasm for Japanese metalworking skills fostered new themes and approaches to ornament.

Jewelry designer Marianne Hunter finds inspiration in antique and estate jewelry that she can incorporate into new designs or reclaim the gold and diamonds. “It makes me smile to be a recycler of diamonds “says the jeweler.

The shapes and colors of her stunning jewellery makes the viewer think of the elegant shapes and lines of Art Nouveau, but with a new, fresh feel. The materials Marianne uses are also present in Art Nouveau jewellery.

Marianne Hunter discovered her métier and medium at a very young age: “My high school boyfriend asked me, ‘Have you ever tried enamelling?’ and we bought a $12.50 toy kiln with six colors to work with. I was instantly fascinated.” 

She remains fascinated decades later. Discovering the art of enamel work  opened up a new realm of expression and creativity that she is still exploring today. It is the cornerstone of Marianne’s art.

Completely self-taught, experimenting, developing her own techniques, she devised methods for thinly layering enamel to achieve finer details. Her early grisaille wove images from nature, fantasy and history together, rendered in shades of black, white and grey. A friend, a fellow jeweler, advised her to learn fine metal work as well. “Setting my enamels in sterling silver let people perceive them as serious pieces, “Marianne recalls.  From that point on, she never repeated a design.

She is well-versed in the uses of enchantment. Marianne Hunter draws ideas and images from nature, fairytales, astronomy tribal arts, history and mythology, delving deep into the collective unconscious to create jewelry that is beyond beautiful: it is mystical and powerful as well.

To add another layer of meaning, Marianne Hunter composes and engraves an original poem on the reverse of each piece. “Some people share the poetry, “she says. “Others like to keep it to themselves.”

Each piece of Marianne Hunter’s jewelry is a unique assemblage of enamel, gems and precious metals, an object of surpassing beauty and the product of her life-long fascination with jewelry, stones and color.

A Marianne Hunter jewel becomes a personal emblem, and a private talisman, an ecstatic celebration of all that is feminine: life-giving and protective, emanating beauty, strength, peacefulness and the sheer joy of being human. She is not just a jewelry designer: she is an artist, working with jewelry as her medium.

“The person who wears it, “she says, “completes the sculpture.”

It is not only the layers of enamel work that are so intricate, but also the thought behind the design. 

To Marianne, nothing is arbitrary, everything is deeply thought out. In spite of their smallish size, her  kimono pendant designs have all the richness and complexity of the full costumes.

The placement of the enamel is so delicate, that even a breath of air can move a tiny bit of colour out if place. “I can’t have a fan in my studio, I can’t have someone walking by. I have to be careful saying p’s and t’s because of the plosive sounds they make. I have spent so much of my life holding my breath.”

Teaching herself the techniques of silver- and later, gold smithing was tedious at first for Marianne. It seemed so mechanical. Still, she persisted, experimenting to find her own methods, and her artistic breakthrough came. “In the beginning, enamel was all I cared about; the metal work was a chore,” she recalls. “When I learned to be playful and painterly with metals, when it became part of the creativity, I fell in love with it.”

Today, Marianne Hunter’s mastery of metal work rivals her creativity with enamel. She sets her pieces in richly textured 14 to 24 karat gold, sterling silver and platinum, fabricated, engraved or sculpted with a fluidity that transforms the precious metals into magical textiles.

Her enamel work has evolved as well. “My husband {artist William Hunter} convinced me to add color, “says Marianne. “A joyous revelation.”  Now, color dances through Marianne Hunter’s designs.

Exotic gemstones complete the effect.  

She prefers unexpected gems, inclusions and phenomenal iridescence. 

She loves the intense green complexity of demantoid garnets, the mysterious indigo of tanzanite, fancy colored diamonds and baroque pearls. 

Opal, the queen of gems is Marianne’s favorite. “Not the pale, white stones of the past, but the fabulous flashing, bold and patterned varieties such as boulder opals, koroit, yowah, fossil, crystal and black opals, “ explains Marianne. “I select each stone for the story I see in it. I could never grow bored with them. “

Each piece of Marianne Hunter’s jewelry is a unique assemblage of enamel, gems and precious metals, an object of surpassing beauty and the product of her life-long fascination with jewelry, stones and color.

Each of her unique jewellery starts from a drawing. 

From her studio in the small town on the coast of California, Portugese Bend, Marianne Hunter only creates twenty to twenty-five pieces a year, and accepts a small number of private commissions. 

“I will draw for a few weeks. I take tons of material out of the safe until I find what I want. I pick up to four designs to work on and then cut the copper panels. I will take one panel and start the enamel work. I can work all day on one panel. It takes anywhere from 40 firings up to 100 firings.”

Marianne encourages her customers to bring in their old jewellery, things they may have inherited and never worm, in order to rework the precious elements. For example, once she took “a dreadful cocktail ring and used the diamonds from it to create a piece the client could wear.”

A Marianne Hunter jewel is truly a rare objet d’art, an investment in beauty and a future heirloom. A recognised modern master of the art of enamel, Marianne’s work has been seen in numerous museum exhibitions in the US and abroad, and her jewelry is in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Mint Museum in Charlotte North Carolina, the Oakland Museum of Art, the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, California and the American Art Museum Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. 

Did you know? - A few interesting facts about diamonds

  
1. The word “Diamond” comes from the Greek word “Adamas” and this means “unconquerable and indestructible”.
2. In 1477 the Archduke of Austria gave a diamond to Mary of Burgundy. This was the earliest record of man giving diamond to a woman.
3. Diamonds worn in ancient times were believed to promote strength, invincibility and courage.
4. To produce a single one-carat diamond, 250 tons of earth will be mined.
5. The diamond is the hardest natural substance found on the earth.
6. Diamond is a birthstone for people born in the month of April.
7. Diamonds were first discovered in India and then in Brazil.
8. Diamonds have very large melting point of 3820K (3547’ C/ 6420’ F) and a boiling point of 5100K (4827’ C/ 8720’ F).
9. Most diamonds found in nature are between one to three billion years old.
10. A single diamond of two carats is worth more than twice a much as 2 one carat diamonds.
11. On average, each stone will lose 50% of its original weight during cutting and polishing.
12. Diamonds are carried to the surface by volcanic eruptions.
13. Although the US accounts for less than one-percent of total global gemstone production, America buys more than half of the world’s total gem quality diamonds - accounting for the world’s largest diamond market.
14. There are white dwarf stars in space that have a diamond core. Biggest diamond known in universe weights 2.27 thousand trillion trillion tons which is 10 billion trillion trillion carats, or a 1 followed by 34 zeros.
15. The largest diamond ever found was the Cullinan at 3106 carats.
16. 80% of the world’s diamonds are not suitable for jewelry.
17. Color of diamond is usually pale yellow to colorless, but can also be brown, blue, green, orange, red, pink and black.
18. The Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas is the worlds only diamond mine open to the public — this is a dig-for-free operation for tourists and rock enthusiasts. Since as far back as 1906, there have been more than 70,000 diamonds discovered in the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas — this includes the 40.23 carat “Uncle Sam Diamond” — the largest diamond of its kind ever found in the US discovered in 1924.
20. In traditional Hinduism diamond with some kind of flaw or flat or incut should be avoided because it carries bad luck.
21. Greek historian Pliny wrote that “diamond baffles poison, keeps of insanity and dispels vain fears”.
22. The ancient Greeks believed that diamonds were splinters of stars fallen on the earth.
23. Romans believed that diamonds had the power to ward off evil and wore them as talismans. They inherited this belief from Indian mythology.
24. A law in Thirteenth-century France decreed that only the King could wear diamonds.

Sandra Kemppainen

Photos: wikipedia, freedigitalphotos.net

Precious Gemstones: Emerald

Emerald is the green variety of Beryl, and its most precious and valuable variety. Its intense green color has given it status as an important gemstone throughout the centuries. The color of Emerald is green to emerald-green. The light green form of Beryl is not recognized as Emerald, but rather Green Beryl. The deep color of Emerald is caused by traces of the element chromium, but sometimes also vanadium.

The ancient source of Emeralds in the old world was Egypt, but their quality was not exceptional. However, the Native South American civilizations such as the Incas have had high quality Emeralds from the mines of Colombia, which have traditionally produced the highest quality Emeralds and continue doing so.

Emeralds can be transparent and gemmy, in which case they are extremely valuable, or they can be in opaque or semi-opaque forms which are much more common and not as valuable.

They are sometimes heat treated, which causes their color to turn blue and transform into Aquamarine.

Emeralds are notorious for their flaws. Flawless stones are very uncommon, and are noted for their great value. Some actually prefer Emeralds with minute flaws over flawless Emeralds, as this proves authenticity. Flaws are often hidden by treating the Emeralds with oil or synthetic lubricants, and this is a common practice in the industry. 

Though Colombian Emeralds have traditionally been the highest quality Emeralds with the finest green color, a new source of Emerald from the African country of Zambia has been producing deep green Emeralds with fewer flaws.

Though Emerald has good hardness, it is a brittle stone. It may develop internal cracks if banged hard or if subject to extreme temperature change. Emeralds that were treated to mask internal flaws should never be cleaned with an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner, nor should they be washed with soap. These practices may remove the oiling treatment and expose the hidden internal flaws.

USES  

Transparent emeralds are faceted into gem cuts for jewelry, and make one of the most popular jewelry gemstones. Emerald is very sensitive to pressure and banging, and the well-known emerald cut was developed specifically for this gem to reduce the amount of pressure during cutting. Translucent Emeralds are cut and polished into cabochons and beads, as are Trapiche Emeralds. 

Emerald is the birthstone of May.

VARIETIES  

Brazilian Emerald  -   Emerald from Brazil. The term Brazilian Emerald may also refer to green Tourmaline from Brazil.

Cat’s Eye Emerald  -  Emerald exhibiting cat’s eye effect. Cat’s eye emerald is very rare, and only exists on paler Emeralds.

Colombian Emerald  -   Emerald from Colombia. This Emerald is usually regarded as the highest quality.

Star Emerald  -  Synonym of Trapiche Emerald.

Trapiche Emerald  -   Emerald with black impurities in the form of a six-rayed star.

Zambian Emerald  -  Emerald from the African country of Zambia. Zambian Emeralds can have very good color and transparency. 

FALSE NAMES  

Emeralds have been synthetically produced since 1848. Synthetic Emeralds currently produced can be very similar to true, natural Emeralds to the point that they may be virtually indistinguishable by normal means. Here are some names for synthetic emerald to watch out for:

Biron Emerald

Chathan Emerald

Gilson Emerald

Kimberly Emerald

Lennix Emerald

Linde Emerald

Regency Emerald

Zerfass Emerald

Glass dyed green is also a major Emerald simulator. The color of green glass and emerald may be identical, but other physical and optical properties can easily differentiate the two. Some fraudulent names given to green glass used as jewelry:

Broghton Emerald

Endura Emerald

Ferrer’s Emerald

Medina Emerald

Mount St. Helen’s Emerald

Spanish Emerald

Emerald in different cultures, and emerald lore

The Gachala Emerald is one of the largest gem emeralds in the world, at 858 carats (172 g). This stone was found in 1967 at La Vega de San Juan mine in Gachalá, Colombia. It is housed at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Precious Gemstones - Ruby

Ruby is red corundum, all other color varieties of corundum being referred to as sapphire. Corundum is the second hardest substance on the Mohs scale, with a rating of 9. Diamond tops the scale with a rating of 10. Excellent hardness combined with the rich color and silky shine makes fine ruby so valuable and secures them a position as one of the so-called “precious” gemstones.

Ruby is named after the Latin word “ruber” for red. Ruby is one of the most expensive gems, large rubies being rarer than comparable diamonds. Many rubies are an essential part of royal insignia and other famous jewelry. 

Ruby crystal before faceting, length 0.8 inches (2 cm). Picture released to the public domain by Adrian Pingstone

Ruby is the birthstone for those who are born in July. Ruby is also used to celebrate a couple’s 15th and 40th anniversary.

Corundum: Corundum is best known for its gem varieties, Ruby and Sapphire. Ruby and Sapphire are scientifically the same mineral but just different colors. Ruby is the red variety, and Sapphire is the variety that encompasses all other colors, although the most popular and valued color of Sapphire is blue. Sapphire is also only used to describe the gem variety, otherwise it is simply called Corundum.

Corundum is a very hard, tough, and stable mineral. For all practical purposes, it is the hardest mineral after Diamond, making it the second hardest mineral. It is also unaffected by acids and most environments.

Ruby colors

Rubies range in color from pinkish to orangey and purplish and brownish red, depending on the chromium and iron content of the stone. The most desirable color is the so-called “pigeon’s blood”, a pure red with a hint of blue.

Buying Ruby

Color is the most important consideration, with clarity a distant second. Large rubies are rare.

Photo from Freedigitalphotos.net

Color

The most desirable color is the so-called “pigeon’s blood”, a pure red with a hint of blue. Color saturation makes all the difference.

Lighting

Ruby shows pleochroism which means that the color varies with the direction of viewing. Stones displaying the cat’s eye or star effect effect are best viewed in daylight.

Many rubies will fluoresce in long or short wave UV and this property can often be used to help identify a stone’s geographic origin. Burmese rubies often fluoresce so strongly that the effect is noticeable even in sunlight.

Such stones seem literally to glow. Thai rubies generally lack this property.

Clarity

Inclusions are common in ruby and not always an indication of lower quality. Included rutile needles cause the “silky shine”. If such a stone is cut en cabochon it exposes the rare cat’s eye effect. Oriented rutile crystal inclusions cause a six-rayed-star light effect (called asterism) to form the popular star ruby.

Ruby location and deposits

Myanmar: For centuries the most important deposits are in upper Myanmar (Burma) near Mogok. Only one percent of the production is of gem quality. Some of the rubies are of pigeon’s blood color and considered to be the most valuable rubies of all. In the early 1990’s large new deposits were discovered at Mong Hsu.

Thailand: Rubies found in Thailand (Chanthaburi district) often have a brown or violet tint. The Thai ruby production is declining, and Chanthaburi is now mainly a center for processing and trading gems.

Sri Lanka: The deposits are located in the southwest of the island in the Ratnapura district. Rubies from that deposits are usually light red to raspberry red.

Madagascar: in the 1990’s major ruby deposits were discovered in this huge island off the coast of Mozambique. Madagascar is now one of the world’s leading ruby producers. 

Tanzania: On the upper Umba River in northwest Tanzania are deposits for gemstone quality rubies that are violet to brown-red. A few opaque rubies are mined as well.

Other deposits of some importance are found in: Afghanistan, Cambodia, Kenya and Vietnam. Less significant deposits are in: Australia, Brazil, India, Malawi, Nepal, Pakistan, United States and Zimbabwe.

Common Ruby treatments

The most common treatment for ruby is heat treatment. Stones, generally before they are cut, are heated to between 1700 to 1800 degrees Celsius (3100-3300 degrees F) for several hours. Heating often improves both color and clarity. A reputable dealer will always disclose gem treatments.

Lower grade rubies with surface-reaching fissures are often fracture-filled with lead glass. 

This treatment produces good looking stones that can be sold at a very reasonable price.

World-famous Ruby

Famous stones of outstanding beauty and color are the “Edwardes Ruby”,weight 167 ct, displayed at the British Museum of Natural History in London, the “Rosser Reeves Star Ruby”, of 138.7 ct, to be seen at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, the “De Long Star Ruby”, weight 100 ct, shown in the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the “Peace Ruby”, 43 ct, which was found in 1919.

Many rubies are an essential part of royal insignia and other famous jewelry. The Bohemian St. Wenzel’s Crown holds an unfaceted ruby of about 250 ct.

Information collected and compiled from The Mineral and Gemstone Kingdom, www.minerals.net and Wikipedia.

Sandra Kemppainen.

Exquisite, lustrous and gemmy ruby crystals in matrix, measuring up to 2 cm, together with small, blue crystals of kyanite. - wikipedia, user StrangerThanKindness

Bracelet with Ruby and Diamonds - wikipedia, paparutzi / christina rutz

Precious Gemstones - Sapphire

Sapphire is the most precious and valuable blue gemstone. It is a very desirable gemstone due to its excellent color, hardness, durability, and luster. In the gem trade, Sapphire without any color prefix refers to the blue variety of the mineral Corundum. 

However, the term Sapphire encompasses all other gem varieties and colors of Corundum as well.

Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium can give corundum blue, yellow, pink, purple, orange, or greenish color. Chromium impurities in corundum yield a red tint, and the resultant gemstone is called a ruby.

Photo: Logan sapphire with diamonds, National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC

Corundum: Corundum is best known for its gem varieties, Ruby and Sapphire. Ruby and Sapphire are scientifically the same mineral but just different colors. Ruby is the red variety, and Sapphire is the variety that encompasses all other colors, although the most popular and valued color of Sapphire is blue. Sapphire is also only used to describe the gem variety, otherwise it is simply called Corundum. Corundum is a very hard, tough, and stable mineral. For all practical purposes, it is the hardest mineral after Diamond, making it the second hardest mineral. It is also unaffected by acids and most environments.

Crystal structure of corundum, by NIMSoffice at en.wikipedia

The most valuable color of Sapphire is a cornflower blue color, known as Kashmir Sapphire or Cornflower Blue Sapphire. Another extremely valuable Sapphire form is the very rare, orange-pink Padparadschah. An exotic type of sapphire, known as Color Changing Sapphire, displays a different color depending on its lighting. In natural light, Color Changing Sapphire is blue, but in artificial light, it is violet. (This effect is the same phenomenon well-known in the gemstone Alexandrite). Yellow and pink Sapphire have recently become very popular, and are now often seen in jewelry.

Because of the remarkable hardness of sapphires (and of aluminum oxide in general), sapphires are used in some non-ornamental applications, including infrared optical components, such as in scientific instruments; high-durability windows (also used in scientific instruments); wristwatch crystals and movement bearings; and very thin electronic wafers, which are used as the insulating substrates of very special-purpose solid-state electronics (most of which are integrated circuits).

Sapphire was first synthesized in 1902. The process of creating synthetic Sapphire is known as the Verneuil process. Only experts can distinguish between natural and synthetic Sapphire.

Types of sapphires:

Color-Change Sapphire exhibits a different color in natural and artificial light.

Cornflower Blue Sapphire: sapphire with a cornflower-blue color, which can be better described as an intense, velvety-blue color. This term is often used in conjunction with Kashmir Sapphire to describe the Sapphire of that region, but it can also be used to describe any Sapphire with such color. 

Cornflower blue is the most desirable color in a Sapphire.

Fancy Sapphire  -   Describing any Sapphire with a color other than blue.

Kashmir Sapphire: has an intense, velvety-blue color, described from the Kashmir Province of India. Kashmir Sapphire is considered to have the finest color of all Sapphire.

Padparadschah: Orange-pink variety of Sapphire that is found in Sri Lanka; highly regarded and one of the most valuable forms of Sapphire.

Star Sapphire: a form of Sapphire displaying asterism in the form of a distinct, six-rayed star. 

False names:

You can also encounter gemstones that are called sapphire, but are not in fact sapphires. 

Brazilian Sapphire - Blue Tourmaline or Blue Topaz

Gold Sapphire - Lapis Lazuli with shiny Pyrite sprinkles

Hope Sapphire - Synthetic Blue Spinel

Lux Sapphire - Iolite

Lynx Sapphire - Iolite

Sapphire Quartz - Massive Blue Quartz or Chalcedony

Sapphire Spinel - Blue Spinel

Water Sapphire - Iolite

Uralian Sapphire - Blue Tourmaline.

Sapphire treatments and enhancements:  

Sapphire is usually heat treated to intensify the blue color, as well as remove inclusions to increase clarity. It is standard industry practice to heat treat 

Sapphire gemstones, and most Sapphires used as gemstones have been heat treated. 

Sapphire with a natural, unheated color is much more valuable then the heat treated material, and gemstones of good quality can be extremely costly.

Sapphires are sometimes colored through diffusion treatment, which artificially alters the color of the original gemstone. Diffused Sapphires colors include deep blue, bright yellow, bright orange and orange-red. 

Diffused Sapphire gemstones are fairly inexpensive.

Because of all the color treatments and enhancements performed to Sapphire gemstones, this information should always be fully disclosed to the buyer, and Sapphire should only be purchased from highly reputable dealers. 

Important Sapphire sources include Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Cambodia, Madagascar, Tanzania, Australia, and the U.S. (Montana). The Kashmir region of India/Pakistan was famous for its Kashmir-blue Sapphire, but little material comes

from there today.

Information collected and compiled from The Mineral and Gemstone Kingdom, www.minerals.net and Wikipedia.

Sandra Kemppainen, photos: Wikipedia, The Mineral and Gemstone Kingdom

Featured designer: Pasi Torkkeli - The Art of Jewelry from Finland

I recently met an amazing jewelry artist on Etsy. His name is Pasi Torkkeli and he is from Finland. His jewelry designs are amazing and they remind me so much of the Finnish nature. I asked him a few questions about his work and background and he was happy to answer them for Design Jewelry and Accessories Magazine.

“Please tell me about who you are and where you live, where you studied, where your shop is, your workshop.”

“I am Pasi Torkkeli, Professional jeweler from Jyväskylä, Finland. I have graduated from Institute of Jewelry Design in Lahti. I currently have my shop in Jyväskylä and I also have an online shop on Etsy. My workshop is also in Jyväskylä. I have also had the pleasure to work in Union Design in Helsinki, where I had the opportunity to work with the very best Finnish jewelers. During my career I have done high end jewelry that were sold mainly in Dubai. In Finnish market I have concentrated in engagement rings and wedding bands.”

“How did you discover your passion and get started with it?”

“My passion comes from my family history, where my great grandfather and also my grandfather were local metal smiths and their workshops were known for beautiful designs and accurate finishing. From an early age I always liked to create new things and had a passion for drawing. When I applied to Lahti Jewelry Design school, I knew that being a jeweler was the only thing that I would even consider to be my profession.”

“Do you have a favorite material you work with? if yes, why?”

“I love making jewelry pieces from platinum because it is a valuable and really fine material, that has a very special radiance in it. My absolute favorite gemstones are certificated and fancy colored diamonds. Diamonds will last a lifetime and I think that it is a good symbol for everlasting love. One

of my career’s highlights has been when I had the opportunity to design a ring that had an oval cut 5.50 carat fancy yellow diamond in a prong setting.”

“So your necklace was in Tarja’s video. can you tell me more about how it got there and about the necklace itself? when it was made, how, what inspired you, what made Tarja choose it”

“I was working in Union Design in Helsinki at that time. Tarja Came to Union design and she was looking for a jewelry or designer for her “I walk alone”- music video. She saw my IceQueen - necklace and wanted to use it.

The necklace has three chords that have aquamarines and quartz and the chords are wrapped together. IceQueen necklace is inspirited by ice. I made this necklace in 2006.”

Tarja Turunen is the former lead singer of the worldwide famous Finnish band, Nightwish. After she and the band separated, her first single was called “I walk Alone” It is in the video of that single that Pasi’s necklace was featured.

“How does the place where you live influence your work? (Finland, the capital being the Design Capital 2012)”

“Finland influences my designs quite much. Finnish designs usually have pure and simplified designs with really high standards. Finnish jewelry is known for its very high quality. I get my inspiration for my jewelry from nature, lights and also from the people in my life.”

"Who is your favorite designer and why?”

“My biggest source of inspiration is Harry Winston. I also admire the Fabergé goldsmiths a lot. Harry Winston and the Fabergé goldsmiths (By the way, they were mostly Finnish goldsmiths) were definitely the finest jewelers that has ever been.”

Topaz solitaire silver ring

“Which is your favorite ever item you created?”

“It is the King’s drop pendant. It was a big project and it was really demanding and special jewelry. The Kings drop pendant is a really impressive jewelry that really stands out.”

This piece of jewelry is truly amazing looking, as you can see from the photos.

“What is your dream for your brand for the future?”

“As a jeweler I feel like I’m learning new things every day, so I would love to continue to learn more. I also wish to expand my collection a lot, continue in international markets and hopefully design a lot of jewelry for people who love my designs.”

“As a last question, can you tell me where can people find you online?”

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TorkkeliJewellery

http://www.facebook.com/kultaseppa.pasitorkkeli

http://twitter.com/Torkkelijeweler

http://torkkelijewellery.blog.com/