How fascinating are these studio shots of a Tiffany & Co. craftsman creating one of their iconic brooches? When I’m walking through the jewelry shop I rarely stop to think of the artisan behind the curtain. From the inspection of the 40-carat tanzanite under the microscope to the sculpting of the metal bow and placement of all those tiny diamonds, one piece must take hours on end! Thank you Tiffany’s for reminding me that jewelry truly is wearable art.
This somewhat reminds me of the photos my sister took while she and her husband made their own wedding rings. The moldings and placement of the jewels. It was all very involved.
Holy, oh my, wow! I wish I had the talent to create something so beautiful! Truly an art form!
I love the concept drawing – that alone would look great in a gold frame!
Oh my goodness, this is amazing! Not to mention how absolutely gorgeous the final product is!
Christina — That is so great they designed them themselves! I always thought designing a custom piece of jewelry would be so luxurious!
Kris — I wish I had the talent too : )
Kristin — So funny you mention it because my jaw dropped when I saw the drawing. Don’t you wish you could peek into their designers’ notebooks?
Lena — Maybe John will get it for you someday, wowza : )
I agree about the wearable art… I just wrote about Polly Wales work over at The Prippy Handbook, admiring how she creates little pieces of art that are beyond fantastic. I love good craftsmanship in any item!
http://prippyhandbook.blogspot.com/2010/10/statement-jewelry-polly-wales.html
Stunning…
You find the coolest stuff! How do you do it??
How interesting! I was just at Tiffany yesterday helping my father pick out an anniversary gift for my mother … glad I got a peek at how things are assembled!
No doubt, fine jewels like this are art. Love seeing the process. Hope you are well.
both interesting and beautiful. i have a question for you….whether it be fun costume jewelry or the real deal, have you found an effective way to store your gems! i have not! mine are all in the boxes that they came in and it is always quite a task to go through them all to find the right piece. any suggestions?
Geri — That is a good question! I have a vintage velvet bracelet display that I bought at a flea market awhile back and holds all my bracelets. Perhaps I can take a photo and share. Then I have an old brass bowl that I keep earrings and such in. It’s probably not the safest or most proper way of containing things, but it seems to work. Necklaces however, are another story…mine are in boxes as well!
I just adore this! So much crafsmanship and work goes into making these pieces.
Also, I noticed that readers were commenting on jewlery storage. I took a furniture class and designed a chest of drawers just for my jewelry. I really need to share it, because jewelry storage is such a hassel! Even for those of us who have middle of the road vintage, as opposed to Tiffany :)
Amazing, by cousin is a jeweler and some of the pieces he makes are just stunning, I wish i could spend a day taking photos of him at work!