Jewellery design

There are many similarities when designing buildings and when designing jewellery. In this disposable consumer age jewellery, like architecture, is one of the few enduring arts, often one of the only things that survives a lifetime. It is handed down, carries stories about those for whom they were designed, attests to affections and predilections long since diminished. But in many respects designing jewellery is simpler than designing buildings, as jewellery has no function other than adornment. The choice of materials is often intrinsic to the design - one works with the materials available and exploits its qualities to craft a beautiful and appropriate object. A contemporary design should take into account the material's structure, strength and weaknesses as well as the client's desires. Many of the tenets of architecture are an allegory for preoccupations in jewellery design - space, light, material, shape, texture, form, reduction. Both disciplines demand trust and responsibility - the client trusts you to have sourced real materials, sourced them fairly, made the work properly, so that the finished piece will survive through time.