Unconventional Materials in Jewelry

When attending a gems and jewelry trade show, there is an expectation that you will see some wonderful things. You prepare yourself to witness jewelry that combines the best gemstones with exceptional craftsmanship. The Couture and Luxury at JCK show at the 2024 Las Vegas exhibitions did not disappoint. However, some of the most creative work was done using materials that one does not generally associate with fine jewelry as well as a creative reimagining of how to use traditional metals. From rare woods to car paint to horsehair, here are some of the most unusual materials and methods that designers use to make stunning wearable art.

Manipulation of Traditional Materials

To ease into this subject matter, a good place to start is with artists who take items you expect to see, but use them in a novel way. For Yuta Ishihara, the designer behind the brand Yutai at Couture, ingenuity lies in literally combining gemstones. Why have one when you can have two? He takes gems like pearls and amethysts, cuts them in half, then fuses them to different gems with the same shape. The result has a visually stimulating effect, making your eyes linger on the item to take in all the subtle details. 

Beyond manipulating gemstones, some artists continue to find new ways to use traditional metals. At JCK, Sarah Achille, a representative of Metal Alchemist, described how the company is manufacturing an entirely new alloy they call "rose silver" which combines equal parts silver and copper. The resulting metal is a gentle, pink-tinted white color.

Rare Stones

Some artists distinguish their work by using gemstones which are rarely seen in high fashion jewelry. There are a few reasons why you don't regularly see such gems. Firstly, gem-quality stones of a particular variety may be especially scarce. Antonio Wali, a representative of Andreoli showing at Couture, showed off a necklace whose primary gemstone element was a collection of rhodonite beads with gentle white veining patterns that make the gems appear almost liquid. Usually, the pink, red, brownish red and purplish red color of rhodonite is not uniform. Rather, gems often have distracting black or white features. The clarity of these rhodonite beads with the gentle veining was truly jaw-dropping.

Another distinctive gem on view at the Couture show was a set of vividly colored green turquoise from Turkmenistan by Victor Velyan set with 18K gold. Unfortunately, the turquoise market has been rocked by the emergence of extremely convincing treated and synthetic gems. Some are so good that even miners themselves can't tell the difference. To see a whole collection of such bright natural and untreated turquoise was a treat indeed. 

Some artists pushed their creativity even further by employing stones that aren't really considered gemstones at all. Ocean jasper is an opaque stone found only on the shores of Madagascar. At Couture, Marco Nikolaj Rechenberg, a representative of Tamara Comolli, explained that the designer hand-picks each stone and arranges them with great care. While no two stones are perfectly alike, broad patterns may be named using terms like "Picasso", and "landscape".

CVC Stones showing at Couture, goes even further, pairing ordinary pebbles with diamonds to create the jewelry for their Signature Collection. Cristina Incisa Di Camerana, a co-founder of the company, described how the stones are collected from beaches around the world and are left in their natural shape without polishing or molding of any kind. As for how pebbles are selected, Ms. Di Camerana said that it comes down to a feeling where the shape of a stone and its color are the most important factors. Small holes are drilled into the pebbles and are set with diamonds to add a touch of luxury.

Using Something Old to Make Something New

Some consider fine jewelry and vintage/antique jewelry to be two separate markets. However, they don't have to be! Beautiful things were made in centuries past just as they are today and there is no reason not to combine them. Breathing new life into something that was made in years previous results in jewelry that is not only lovely, but also fits with the modern sensibilities regarding sustainability. 

If an artist stumbles on a particularly spectacular ancient item that inspires them, they can design a whole look around it. I found one such piece at the booth of Lydia Courteile at Couture. Larissa Nicolai, a representative of the brand, showed me a necklace that was made to highlight ancient Egyptian scarab carvings. 

This principle of using old things to make new jewelry also applies to techniques. As we saw before with the rose silver made by Metal Alchemist, jewelers continue to develop new ways to use traditional materials. While the process of discovery is exciting, it doesn't mean that old ways don't get the job done. 

Dominic Jones, the creative director of 886 By The Royal Mint showing at Couture, has taken this philosophy to heart. The Royal Mint was founded in the year 886 when England was ruled by Alfred the Great. For more than a thousand years, 886 By The Royal Mint (named for the year of the company's inception) has been responsible for fabricating the nation's coins. Mr. Jones described a strike technique called "hexterity" which involves hitting cold metal to create a design that appears to move as the light changes. Thanks to the high level of detail that can be created with this method, hexterity was originally developed for coin security. Mr. Jones has re-trained some of the workers who used this technique on coins to instead employ it to create jewelry. The silver used to make 886 By The Royal Mint jewelry is reclaimed from obsolete x-ray machines and the gold comes from circuit boards. Mr. Jones proudly said that the reclamation method for the gold was co-engineered by them.

Alternative Materials

It is particularly exciting to see fine jewelry made from materials that you normally would not associate with luxury items. This year, quite a few designers included natural woods in their work. In addition to her use of ocean jasper, Tamara Comolli's imaginative creations also included snakewood carvings. As snakewood is a fast-growing tree, this South African wood is considered a sustainable resource. It is lightweight and can take a high polish. 

Octavia Elizabeth is another artist who fashioned beautiful wood jewelry for her Riviera collection presented at Couture. As representative Hayley Blatt explained, they began experimenting with cocobolo wood this year. She said that the company "loves using natural materials". 

Misani Milano pairs luxury materials (gemstones and metals) with leather to create versatile fashion that is simultaneously glamorous and casual. Pieto Bartolomei said that the company uses Tuscan leather so frequently, "it is the most recognizable feature of our collection". The line uses leather in jewelry meant for both men and women, but, Mr. Bartolomei said that most of the leather items are masculine - "With men's items we are more daring, more willing to take chances. We are not afraid to celebrate heavier materials like leather, steel and fossils. We are not bound by delicacy or daintiness."

Liquid Suspension

Two independent companies at Couture offered jewelry that featured a design element that is essentially a snow globe where gemstones and/or small items are suspended in a liquid which allows them to gently float around as the item moves.

Andrea Fritsch, founder of Capolavoro, is proud of her company's Billion Dreams Collection which features gems and small tokens suspended in a patented liquid. These pieces are meant to be dreamlike and can be specially commissioned to contain items of personal significance. According to Ms. Fritsch, hearts and stars are the most commonly requested symbols for their custom work. 

The second company that creates liquid suspension art jewelry is DreamBoule. Founder, president, and creative director Beniamino Crocco explained that he tries to create a whole world contained inside a snow globe, as if from a child's memory. This snow globe is meant to protect something precious. As for what these precious items are, Dreamboule's website showcases many beautiful premade designs, but Mr. Crocco said that he is excited by custom commissions where clients provide small stones that are meaningful to them. 

Environmentally Friendly Materials

The Italian Marco Dal Maso line represented by The Gioielli Group that showed at Luxury designs for the socially conscious consumer. The silver and gold metals are all recycled, and their diamonds are laboratory-grown using wind and solar energy to minimize the carbon footprint. Mark Pasdon, a distributor of the line, said that they are particularly proud of their vegan leather which is created with a technique that Mr. Pasdon called "uncaged innovation".  The process results in 88% less water used overall with notably decreased carbon emissions. To create this soft and flexible leather, the proteins that are fed to cows are instead processed and pressed without involving the animal at all. As Mr. Pasdon put it, "We are skipping the cow!" The corporate ethos of the company is sustainability, and this is something that is clearly making an impression on buyers. Mr. Pasdon called sales at the show this year "crazy good!"

Stuff You Never Thought Could Be Jewelry

There were three dealers at Couture who created art utilizing materials and methods that you would never associate with jewelry. 

Alix Dumas, the designer behind Maison Alix Dumas, feels that it is important to "use what the Earth gives us" and recycle materials whenever possible. Specifically, she takes shell waste from the food industry and recycled eyeglass frames and pairs them with recycled gemstones and precious metals to create her jewelry. The beauty of the final product is not in any way limited by using these materials. In 2023, the first year that Ms. Dumas showed at Couture, her work won Best in Haute Couture.

The company Silvia Furmanovich, named for its designer, also uses very unconventional materials to create fine jewelry. Two of these caught my eye and the artist's son Andrey Furmanovich was kind enough to explain how his mother fashions her jewelry. Firstly, Mr. Furmanovich described how his mother takes natural woods and sets them using marquetry, a method of woodworking that involves creating complicated mosaics that feel smooth to the touch. 

In keeping with the philosophy of using natural materials, Ms. Furmanovich also creates designs using intricately woven horsehair. 

Even with all of the unique work I have described, there was one unconventional material used by William Henry that stood out from the rest - fordite. If you are wondering what fordite is, you are not alone! It is a highly obscure material that few are familiar with. Fordite, alternatively called Motor Agate or Detroit Agate, is a manmade relic of years past when automobiles were painted by hand. Pools of the enamel paint would collect on the floor, creating swirling designs that are each one-of-a-kind. Todd Cozzolino, sales manager for William Henry, explained that they source their fordite from painting stations in Michigan. In an effort that truly embodies the spirit of sustainability, William Henry takes a waste product and grants it a second life in the jewelry world.

The unconventional materials seen at the shows this year were nothing short of spectacular. From discarded natural materials to manmade waste products to use for metal manipulation not originally intended for jewelry purposes, the 2024 Las Vegas gem shows proved that artists are thinking out of the box to create beautiful and sustainable art. What do you think we will see next year?