Stellene Volandes

Furmanovich travels the globe, uncovering age-old crafts that become a foundation for her exquisite designs, which at their heart are traditional jewelry rings, necklaces, pendants, brooches, and earrings all crafted with precious stones, combined with wood marquetry and other nontraditional materials. With fine jewelry taking pride of place, the collections featured in this book expand to include handbags, furniture, and smaller luxury home goods. Collaborations with artisans are at the heart of Furmanovich s practice, and in recent years her curiosity has led her far and wide. She has explored miniature painting in India, discovered bamboo work in Japan, and witnessed intricate marquetry techniques in her native Brazil and a host of other traditional techniques from Central Asia to Southeast Asia. This book reveals her close relationships with these highly skilled makers and presents the resulting pieces, which hold a rare and special beauty.

This stunning, glamorously designed survey highlights the artistry, expertise, and inspiration behind the work of today's most fascinating and influential jewelry designers. Breaking out of the rarified world associated with fine jewelry is a set of contemporary designers who combine traditional skills with fresh vision, transforming artistic inspiration into wearable art. Boundless creativity and a sense of playfulness distinguish these jewelers from the pack, skills that result in pieces that are breathtakingly sophisticated and deeply rooted in each designer's singular aesthetic. Focusing on seventeen modern masters from around the world, Jeweler reveals the unique ideas, intricate processes, and inspiration that go into their work. Curated by Stellene Volandes, executive style director of Town and Country, Jeweler introduces readers to designers like the Hemmerles, a jewelry dynasty known for molding materials like copper and aluminum into one-of-a-kind collectibles; Wallace Chan, the Hong Kong wizard of stones whose patented techniques dazzle the mind as well as the wearer; Elena Votsi, an Athens jeweler who remade the Olympic medal, and whose bold metallic pieces are like wearable sculptures; and Lauren Adriana, a London wunderkind poised to become the master of her generation. Through Volandes's vivid profiles and breathtaking images of each jeweler's work, readers are immersed in the passion and craft that make each one a visionary. Jeweler is a stunning portrait of this fascinating niche of design, anointing the designers of today who are making the collectibles of the future.