Jewelry by Way of Architect

Frank Gehry’s audacious and intriguing line of jewelry for Tiffany & Co. is a real exploration of forms, material and physics. Some pieces, shown above, blend together materials found in architecture such as concrete or wood with more traditional jewelry making materials, such as quartz, gold, and sterling silver. Others play with the idea of torque, and all the pieces, as Gehry is prone to do, spurn the idea of a 90-degree angle.

This architect-designed jewelry brought to question: Are other architects designing jewelry? Jewelry is not so far from sculpture which is not so far from architecture—the ideas of design, construction, and aesthetics are integral to all three.

Some research brought several architects from the past and present into focus.

From the past:

Josef Hoffman (1870-1956), a notable architect of the Vienna Secession movement, created many beautiful brooches, shown below.



And here’s a fun one:

In 1987, Cleto Munari commissioned 16 of the world’s most renowned architects to design jewelry. It seemed impossible to track down any pictures of the works online, so after some shenanigans at the New York Public Library—the big branch at 5th Ave. and 42nd which doesn’t let you check out any of its books—the librarians chased me down the gilded halls as I was leaving dejected, thinking that I had waited an hour in vain! and put into my hands the one book with all the images I so wanted to see: Jewelry by Architects: From the Collection of Cleto Munari.

I highly recommend taking a look at the collection, even if you have to wait eons at a library to see it. The book includes the questions and answers to the same survey of questions given to each architect. They include questions like “Have you ever designed jewelry?”, “Have you ever bought a woman jewelry?”, “Do you think your jewelry is consistent with your architecture and design?”. Flipping through the book, most of the architects definitely produced works in the architectonic style and incorporated some great sculptural elements. The mark of the 80s, however, was pretty prominent, and, I have to admit, pretty funny. You can judge for yourself in some of the photos.

I do have to mention my admiration of the designs of Eisenman—they are so thought-through, like a coherent structure with systems and all. Applause.

The 16 architects: Mario Bellini, Michele de Lucchi, Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, Hans Hollein, Arata Isozaki, Richard Meier, Alessandro Medini, Paolo Portoghesi, Peter Shire, Ettore Sottsass, Stanley Tigerman, Oscar Tusquets, Robert Venturi, Lella Vignelli, and Marco Zanini

Some images (all captions left to right):

Eisenman's drafts, elevations and all, and the final product.

Earrings by Bellini, glasses frame by Hollein, ring by De Lucchi

Sketches and rings by Hollein

Ring by Shire, brooches by Mendini, ring by Graves, ring by Isozaki


Sketches and Ring by Meier

Rings by Portoghesi

Sketch and necklaces by Sottsass

Sketches and rings by Tigerman

Necklace and earrings by Venturi

Ring by Vignelli, necklace by Zanini, bangle by Tusquets

From the Present:

Zaha Hadid (GENIUS, I do say) created some stunning jewelry with Patrik Schumacher for D. Swarovski.

The deets from Hadid’s site:

“Fluid movements leading to dynamic forms, the Celeste jewellery pieces reflect the seamless complexity of the vision Zaha Hadid has explored and developed over the past three decades.

The liqueous, curvilinear shapes of the necklace and the cuff follow the formal logic of continuous transformations observed in Hadid’s morphological research.

The unique jewellery pieces are an obvious interpretation of the architectural language pursued by the practice; soft curves arise from the torso to create a dynamic form that wraps around the neck coming to rest on the shoulder eventually flowing down the arm to tentatively rest on the finger. The sculptural sensibility of the pieces is strongly accentuated by the use of sterling silver that brings to life the rhythm of folds and protrusions.

By focusing on the dichotomy between the powerful solidity of sterling silver and the organic fluidity of forms, Hadid has created exquisite, sensual and stunning pieces.

DIMENSIONS:

Necklace
Length 43cm
Width 40 cm

Cuff
Length 45cm
Width 10 cm”

Less well-known architects have also forayed into jewelry design. Eva Eisler, who has worked as an architect, created many pieces of jewelry in simple forms that play with the idea of tension (below, left).

Richard W. Berman, an architect trained at RISD and UPenn, started a website in 1999 which sold, in addition to home and office accessories, jewelry that he has designed (above, right). These are just a couple of the names of architects venturing into jewelry design today; I know I must be missing many others—but the point is: they are out there!

Design easily bleeds from one form to the other. Architects can be pretty nifty jewelry designers as well, pushing and blending the boundaries of what jewelry should and could be. I am happy to be studying architecture, but I know I’ll never give up my love of making jewelry. It's like Eisenman says, in response to the question "Do you think your jewelry is consistent with your architecture and design?": "It is my architecture, no different from my architecture."

Sources:

Jewelry by Architects: From the Collection of Cleto Munari. Barbara Radice. New York: Rizzoli, 1987.

www.Tiffany.com (official website of Tiffany & Co.)

www.Zaha-Hadid.com (official website of Zaha Hadid Architects)

www.ArchitectsTouch.com (official website of Richard Berman)

www.julieartisans.com/eva_eisler.html

A Sunken Ship in Mobile Form

These nautical asymetrical earrings were made yesterday by taking some pieces from broken vintage brooches and earrings and combining them with various natural and man-made beads. The toughest part? Ah, what we all seek: Balance.

It definitely took some trial and error to hang the beads just so. I've decided to keep these earrings for myself instead of posting them up for sale. They can't be replicated without more vintage brooches to take apart, and I would hate to say goodbye to the only pair. Little whales, anchors, steering wheels--these charms exist somewhere in a beading store, but that would entail more time than I have to go look for them, especially considering all the jewelry I have to work on at the moment.

A naming of materials in this pair (in case anyone wanted to create a similar pair of earrings themselves, or was simply curious):

Gold plated French hooks and wire
Copper plated metal
Clear plastic faceted beads
Glass flower bead
Aqua terra jasper rectangular bead

Blue Agate stones
Cat eye beads of various colors
Metal bead

Although this pair is not for sale, I have visions of a collection of mobile earrings dancing in my head. A trend of mobile earrings would be amazing--not only because they are so fun to wear, but also because they are a ton of fun to make. Coming soon (perhaps?)...

California and the Serpentine Debacle

   Serpentine is a natural stone commonly used in jewelry making and carved stone art. It can come in many colors ranging from white to yellow to green to brown to black. Why is such a beautiful stone coming under attack in California? Because the word “asbestos” is being tossed around recklessly.

So, the more important question remains: Can one get sick from wearing serpentine jewelry?

The bottom line: NO! There is nothing wrong with or dangerous about wearing serpentine jewelry. Don’t let the yahoos who know nothing about geology scare you off from some really gorgeous works of serpentine jewelry.

Senator Gloria Romero of California is on a crusade against asbestos, prompted by a heavily equipped (i.e. with oodles and oodles of money) mesothelioma lobby. Which is fine, actually. Mesothelioma is a terrible cancer and we should not make little of the fact that asbestos is a known carcinogen. Nonetheless, her plan of displacing serpentine as the State Rock of California is a desultory move at best, because (and this is important now):

1) Not all serpentine contains asbestos. Moreover, not all the rocks with asbestos content can readily free asbestos fibers. The forms of serpentine usually used for making jewelry, many commonly found in California, have little to no asbestos content, or cannot release the asbestos as an airborne fiber. NON-FIBROUS serpentine is totally SAFE.

2) Serpentine can only contain crysotile, a less dangerous form of asbestos.

3) It is extremely rare today for someone to get mesothelioma outside of an occupational environment (mining for crysotile, for instance).

4) All the money used in legislation and bureaucracy regarding this symbolic dethroning of asbestos would be much better used to fund research into mesothelioma and programs for victims of this disease.

Discussion follows:

Antigorite is almost always the type of serpentine we see in jewelry. It is rare for antigorite (or lizardite, another form of serpentine that is used often for marble flooring) to form fibrous serpentine asbestos. Bowenite, a hard stone and a type of antigorite, is widely used in carving and formed into cabochons—it is also the State Rock of Rhode Island. Why not get rid of it as well because of its tenuous relationship with asbestos?

Two types of asbestos exist: crysotile from serpentine and amphibole from several types of rocks. Crysotile is far less dangerous to breathe because its curly/wavy fibers are less prone to being lodged in our bodies (amphibole asbestos is composed of straight, piercing fibers). The highly carcinogenic asbestos from the amphibole group has been banned from most of the western world since the 1980s. It should be noted, however, that almost all of the asbestos used in American buildings is crysotile (about 95%), and though it is difficult to get sick, it is absolutely possible to inhale loose fibers of asbestos from the crysotile found in older buildings. Non-fibrous serpentine exists, however, and it will never flake off asbestos and become lodged in your body—it is a shame that the Californian legislature does not understand that.

Some will say, did you know that tens of thousands of people have died from asbestos related diseases? Indeed, back when we had no idea of the problems it could cause, many people were over-exposed to the asbestos fibers (including the more vicious amphibole type of asbestos). Today, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has put into place many, many regulations to protect the health of miners and construction workers dealing with asbestos. Here’s some food for thought:

“In a 1999 National Academy of Sciences (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. vol. 96) study on the health effects on miners exposed to grunerite asbestos, the researchers concluded the lifetime risk of death by lung cancer and mesothelioma for the miners was similar to that of being killed by a lightning strike or by a plane falling from the sky (averaged over the entire U.S.).”

Also keep in mind that over-exposure to any chemical—even some of the most quotidien and useful ones—causes detrimental results. Gasoline contains many known carcinogens and ammonia gives you brain damage. Inhaling stone particles will never be healthy: quartz, the most common mineral we can dig up, can lead to silicosis if one breathes silica dust. There is no legitimate reason for anyone to attack serpentine alone.

California politicians have bigger things to deal with than rocks. Budget, maybe? Sheer foolishness.

The Low Down on Crystal, Part 5

What is Rock Crystal?
Part 5 of 5 on understanding crystal as a material

This is just a name for quartz stones. Quartz comes in a huge variety of colors, and it is not a particular clear material. The clearest quartz is often called Crystal Quartz. Rock crystal is great for jewelry as it can be cut into many different shapes, and larger pieces are found in nature so stunning pendants can be created. Often stones are simply tumbled and polished, and can give a very organic, earthy look to jewelry.

For chandeliers, however, or if you are concerned about sparkle and shine, this is not the crystal you are looking for. Rock crystal has no lead content, and even the Crystal Quartz mentioned above is not as clear as glass. Just keep that in mind if someone ever suggests you use rock crystal on your lighting fixture (I have seen chandelier crystal stores sell this stuff!).

The Low Down on Crystal, Part 4

How Can I Tell if It’s Glass or Lead Crystal?
Part 4 of 5 part series on understanding crystal as a material

There are kits you can buy that can test for lead content. However, there are ways to guess without such a to-do:

By sight: Just by looking you should be able to distinguish. The lead in crystal makes it incredibly clear and gives it a tell-tale rainbow spectrum sheen; when you turn a piece of crystal about in the light, small glimmers of color appear. Glass will not have that rainbow sparkle or the simple clarity of crystal.

By touch: Another way is to feel the weight of the piece of crystal in your hand. Crystal is noticeably heavier than glass. You might not expect it, but intuitively, you probably have a good sense for how heavy glass should feel—think about how many glass jars, bottles, and cups have you held in your lifetime. So, you should be able to gauge if that amount of material in your hand weighs as much as, or more than, what that amount of glass would weigh.

By sound: This is mostly a trick for glassware, since small crystal beads don’t make a strong sound when you tap at them, but this would likely work for larger, thinner pieces of chandelier crystal or glass. Just give it a flick with your finger or tap it with something—if it is crystal, the noise it should make is a reverberating and clear “clink” or “ting.” If you end up with a thudding noise, or really a “tunk” that does not reverberate, then you are holding glass.

By very fun destruction: Also, crystal is more durable and does not fracture into as many pieces as glass, so if you have an extra piece to smash up, this could be a good test to see how it breaks. If it breaks into 2 or 3 clean pieces, then it’s probably crystal, but if it shatters into several pieces and small shards then it’s most likely glass.

If all else fails and you really cannot figure it out (i.e. if you’re blind, deaf and armless), then you should go ahead and purchase a lead-detection kit (and have someone with appropriate physical means help you with the process). Kits come pretty cheap, I’ve seen some for about $13.00, so if you want a definitive answer there is that option.

The Low Down on Crystals, Part 3

Where do Crystals Come from?
Part 3 of 5 Part Series on Understanding Crystal as a Material

Many different countries produce crystals of all kinds of quality. The following are some of the more notable countries of origin:

The highest quality I have seen is from Swarovski, which has their factories based in Austria. They have precision cuts that increase the sparkle dramatically, a high lead content, and are the most expensive crystals on the market.

If you are looking for totally acceptable quality at a lower cost, I would suggest Egyptian crystals. I’ve handled and worked with Egyptian crystals from the company Asfour and I think they are still very eye-catching while being an economical solution. The crystals have over 30% lead content and that characteristic rainbow shine. Maybe the cut is not as sharp as Swarovski’s, but the crystals are still cleanly cut and capture light excellently. A word of caution though, that at least the 8mm rounded crystal beads from Asfour are machine cut, and maybe one in a ten is slightly asymmetrical. I haven’t noticed this kind of cutting issue with the company’s larger crystals (French Cut ones are all perfect), which I believe are also machine cut—I think it is an issue only for the very small, faceted pieces.

The cheapest and lowest quality crystals come from China. A warning about Chinese crystals: they really aren’t worth it, no matter how low the cost, just don’t bother. Often, they have no lead content at all (some dealers lie about this fact), and worst than that, they are not even made of high quality glass. Many pieces will have obvious imperfections, such as white spots within the crystal , or a general murky gray tint in the glass (a sign of many impurities). Also, since they are machine cut, they are often inaccurately cut or unintentionally asymmetrical, which not only means the bead is ugly, but also means that it cannot sparkle like it is supposed to. DO NOT buy Chinese crystals!

For lead-free crystals, look to Austrian (Swarovski/Strass) crystals or Turkish crystals (more discussion about lead free crystals in this article: Isn’t Lead Poisonous?).

So many different qualities of crystal from so many countries!--but how can I tell that it's real lead crystal and not glass on my own? (Part 4)

Sources:
Personal Experience
http://www.cristalier.com/
http://www.chandelierparts.com/aboutourcrystal.aspx

The Low Down on Crystals, Part 2

Isn’t Lead Poisonous?
Part 2 of 5 Part Series on Understanding Crystal as a Material



But you say: “Lead?!?! I’ve seen enough public service announcements with babies chewing on paint chips to know that lead = poison.”

Sounds scary, but let’s all stay calm, the lead, or really lead oxide in these crystals is bound into the structure of the crystals and cannot readily leak out. An article on Beadboard.net includes a letter from Swarovski which cites experiments that have been conducted on its crystal to test the safety of the lead content:

“Because of this structure, lead crystal poses no significant risk of excessive lead exposure to human health via surface contact (hand to mouth), mouthing or even ingestion. Indeed, Swarovski crystals have been tested under a variety of test methods for extractable lead. Test conditions and procedures do vary, but lead levels are well below regulatory limits even when the crystal is tested in an acid solution to maximize the release of lead.”

So, the lead content in crystals is totally safe to be used in jewelry for everyday wear. However, I advise against sticking crystals on the ends of sticks and sucking on them as lollipops, or crushing them up into your power pro-biotic smoothie, even if, according to Swarovski, that wouldn’t be too much of a health hazard (pointy shards aside…).

*A quick warning about leaded crystal decanters and goblets: these do pose a bit of a problem since alcohol, as well as acidic substances like juices and vinegars, encourage the leaching of lead into the solution, and can cause lead poisoning though ingestion if these liquids are kept in the containers for an extended period of time (approx. over two weeks). Use crystal glasses and decanters right before serving and you should be fine.*

Also, the process of making the lead oxide does expose factory workers to toxic chemicals and we can only hope that they are adequately protected (I’m talking to you, China). There is also an ecological impact to lead mining that should be noted.

If you are worried about the ecological impact of all the lead in the crystals, you can always opt for the lead-free varieties of crystals. The highest quality I’ve found is the Spectra or Alternative Quality line of crystals from Swarovski. They are composed of glass, and cut differently from leaded crystal in order to best capture the shine of the glass medium. For comparable quality at a lower price, I suggest Turkish crystals. These are hand-cut and polished, and also shimmer well for glass. But I have to say that after a long time of comparing the two, glass, no matter how it is cut, can never look as stunning and brilliant as full lead crystal sparkling in light.

So, where do all these pretty little crystals come from? (Part 3)


Sources:
Personal Experience
http://www.cristalier.com/
http://www.chandelierparts.com/aboutourcrystal.aspx
http://www.beadboard.net/lead-swarovski-crystal-beads