Five jewelry talents for Christie’s. The auction house (21 June – 5 July) has selected some of the most interesting designers: Kayo Saito (United Kingdom), Ulla and Martin Kaufmann (Germany), Tomasz Donocik (United Kingdom), Chiara Passoni (Italy), Sarah Ho (UK). The goal is to promote contemporary jewelry, with emerging designers alongside the established names of the great Maison. The exhibition, in fact, is entitled Jewelery Talent of Today. The sale takes place online over two weeks.
Sarah Ho, born in Hong Kong, trained as a fashion designer, presents jewels dense with embroidery and beads. An example are the Daisy earrings with two cabochon emeralds, opal pearls with rubies, sapphires. Each gem is set in recycled 18K rose gold.
Ulla and Martin Kaufmann are recognized for their goldsmith skills and prefer geometric lines, simple, original, with large volumes. They feature unisex bracelets in 18K gold, large and enveloping.
Tomasz Donocik, of Polish origin, but now a Londoner, graduated with Central Saint Martins in London and, in addition to jewelry, has developed a passion for art, cinema and literature. He designed for some renowned Maison such as LVMH, Garrard and Stephen Webster before launching his own brand in 2009. He is inspired by Art Deco, the Eighties, and retrofuturism, with marked geometries. The designer presents earrings with emeralds and diamonds with studied asymmetries that evoke the Chrysler skyscraper in New York.
Chiara Passoni, with a past as a manager and sailor, a lover of the sea and marine fauna, has converted to jewelry. But without forgetting her previous passions. Her jewels also recall the themes of travel and the mysterious life of the past: she uses materials such as rare woods, precious and original stones, mammoth tusks, prehistoric shark teeth, fossils and ancient games of Chinese mother of pearl, jade. She presents wide bracelets made with African water buffalo horn, with gold and diamond inserts. “Each of my jewelry is a living part of my soul”, says Chiara.
Kayo Saito considers jewels as an art form, which he creates thanks also to his goldsmith skills. The jewels are sculptural, made of 18-karat gold and silver, with a Japanese and European aesthetic mix. She was trained in Japan and the UK, and received a Masters degree from the Royal College of Art in 2001. She features a Primavera necklace in 18K gold foil.
