Category Archive: Jewelry

Family of cats riding a bicycle sterling silver brooch. Applefog Cat Inspired Sterling Silver Jewelry

The Moscow-based Applefog workshop creates original designer jewelry made of 925 sterling silver. In fact, each piece of jewelry created by a team of jewelry artists is a small work of art. The range of their jewelry is diverse and includes pendants, earrings, brooches, rings, bracelets and souvenirs of excellent quality.

A special place in the Applefog gallery is occupied by unique designer jewelry with a funny cat design. Undoubtedly, cats are the eternal muse of designers, artists and, of course, jewelers. Their grace, charisma, beauty and independence inspire the creation of unusual jewelry. Silver brooches with blackening perfectly convey the elegance of cats. Thus, dark contours emphasize the grace of the lines, and the shine of the metal creates the effect of a “live” look.
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Rhodium plated pendant 4 cm. Natural flowers, goldenrod, epoxy resin. IrinBlues Dried Flower Resin Jewelry Art

Moscow based workshop IrinBlues is a family owned brand founded by designers Irina and Yuri Ivanov over 7 years ago. The artists create exquisite jewelry and home decor items by hand from epoxy resin. In addition, they use natural flowers, plants, moss, and even mushrooms! Their works are a real work of art, created with inspiration, love and attention to detail.

According to Irina, she collects and dries flowers, creates compositions and fills with resin. Then, Yuri grinds, polishes, and brings the products to perfection. In addition, he takes high-quality photographs, in which he shows himself as a photo artist. Besides, the masters create molds for casting products themselves, so each of them is unique.

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Pink moth brooch. Materials – polymer clay, acrylic paint, dry pastel, protective varnish, steel fittings. Wingspan about 7 cm. Angelina Sharonova Wearable Jewelry Art

Her moths and butterflies are so captivating in their realism and, at the same time, mystery. Angelina Sharonova herself recalls how her friend wanted to brush a moth off her coat, but upon closer inspection, she realized that it was a brooch. Noteworthy, Angelina has been inspired by these fragile and fascinating creatures since childhood.

According to Angelina, her mother explained to the girl that she should not touch them because she “can accidentally damage the wings, and the butterfly will die”. But how can you deny yourself the pleasure of putting these wonderful creatures on your palm and examining them? That’s how she came up with the idea of ​​creating moths that anyone can touch, examine, and even “seat” on clothes.

Angelina Sharonova is a professional artist, member of the Union of Professional Artists of the Russian Federation, and has a higher art education. She paints with oil and acrylic, works with graphics and ink, and improves her skills in academic drawing and sculpture.
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Head of a Woman in Red by Renoir 3D brooch pin. 1980s. Bonnie Kondor jewelry art inspired by great masters

Bonnie Kondor jewelry art inspired by great masters
Born in 1946, the talented American watercolor artist, teacher and jeweler Bonnie Kondor graduated from Lake Forest College in Illinois and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After graduation she taught art at Roberto Clemente High School in Chicago for over thirty years. Having retired from teaching, she moved to California and became interested in watercolor painting. The main motif of her watercolors was the beauty of flowers.

An important stage in her life was her passion for jewelry design and the creation of unique jewelry, which today has become highly collectible. Having founded her company Bonnie Designs in California in 1982, she began creating and selling handmade jewelry. Her brooches and pendants are unique miniature three-dimensional works of art, inspired by great masters – Picasso, Renoir, Monet, Seurat, Miro, Klimt, Cezanne and others.

Handcrafting jewelry, Bonnie created a three-dimensional collage of paper, covering it with multi-colored acrylic and glass beads. To achieve the long-lasting beauty and durability of the pieces, she used polymer coatings, resin, varnishes, and enamels. Also, each brooch has a vibrant gold-tone border that shimmers with gold in the light. On the back of each brooch or pendant, Bonnie hand-signed the artist’s name, such as “Seurat & Me,” Bonnie Kondor, and sometimes dated them.

Kondor created jewelry for just over a decade, closing her company in the mid-1990s. 75-year-old Bonnie Kondor and her husband, Laszlo Kondor, 81, now live in La Quinta, California.
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Wolf pendant. Oil paints, magnesite. 6 cm. Maria Ratnikova Lacquer Miniature Jewelry

Maria Ratnikova Lacquer Miniature Jewelry

Based in Kostroma, Maria Ratnikova is a versatile artist who creates beauty by working in various fields of applied art. In her gallery, along with collectible dolls, silk flowers and watercolors, a special place is occupied by jewelry painting on natural stones, lacquer miniatures and accessories (felt art).

Other types of her creativity include silk painting (batik), decoration, working with leather and fur, floristry, graphics, sculpture and inlay. According to the artist herself, each material in turn becomes her favorite, and then she makes a collection-series of works.

Since 2017, Maria has been a regular participant in jewelry art exhibitions in her native Kostroma.

Noteworthy, multimedia artist Maria Ratnikova is also an art therapist and a practical psychologist
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Gold beetle engraving on a coin using nickel, gold. Engraver Roman Butin

Legendary Engraver Roman Butin
Nothing is impossible for the Russian engraver Roman Butin, thanks to his wild imagination and talent. Admirers of his art call this Golden Beetle a masterpiece, as well as many other works of the master from Yekaterinburg.
Inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s near-forgotten fairy tale of the same name, the gold beetle features an intricately carved dollar that hides a secret. The button activates the beetle’s wings, revealing gold. Noteworthy, at an auction in December 2017, this beetle was sold for $9,200. However, this is not the highest price at which he sold his products.
Roman’s “Gold Beetle” and its hidden secrets is a reference to Poe’s short story including cryptography; hidden elements that readers must decipher in order to understand the story.
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Brooch with charms, 1820s, Victoria and Albert Museum. Cast Iron Jewelry Art

Cast Iron Jewelry Art
The history of cast iron jewelry began in 1790, when craftsmen in Silesia along with vases and candlesticks, made individual jewelry items. Also, at the beginning of the 19th century, Berlin metalsmiths made cast iron jewelry at the Royal Iron Foundry.
Despite the very fine workmanship and ornate patterns, black jewelry looked rather gloomy and did not have enough secular gloss. Therefore, women mainly used such ornaments at mourning events. Thus, the term mourning jewelry has become synonymous with cast iron jewelry.

However, in 1812, the attitude towards cast-iron jewelry changed somewhat – it became not only terribly fashionable, but super-patriotic to appear in them at social events.

First of all, this popularity arose due to the Prussian princess Marianne. The fact is that in March 1813, Prussia joined the Russian Empire in the fight against Napoleon. War, as you know, is a very costly business. In order to stimulate financial revenues to the treasury, Marianne of Prussia appealed to her compatriots with an appeal. In particular, to donate their gold jewelry for a noble goal – financing the War of Independence.
In return, the benefactors received sincere gratitude from the country and a cast-iron decoration with the inscription “I gave gold for iron” or “For the well-being of our Motherland.”

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