A Journey from Gem stones to Masterpieces

What elevates a jewel from mere craft to a real murals? It’s a mix of remarkable supplies, refined craftsmanship, and a spark of inspiration that transcends the peculiar. For jewellery designer Alexia Connellan, that spark comes from numerous sources: from the masterworks of structure and portray to the fragile kinds present in nature. Her creations are extra than simply jewellery; they’re expressions of a deep creative imaginative and prescient and a lifelong pursuit of magnificence.

Alexia Connellan’s journey as a designer is a captivating mix of influences and experiences. Her artistic course of is deeply rooted in the great thing about the pure world and the brilliance of human achievement. Think about drawing inspiration from the swirling helix of Christopher Wren’s Dean Staircase in St. Paul’s Cathedral or the fragile petals of the White Egret Orchid. Visualize the wealthy palette of Millet’s portray of Ophelia in London’s Tate Gallery. These are just some of the sources that gasoline Alexia’s creativeness and form her designs.

However for Alexia, all of it begins with the gem. She searches the world over for stones with distinctive colours, cuts, and traits that talk to her. “I’m all the time aiming for the proper concord between gem, design, and the lady the jewel is meant for,” Alexia shares. “The whole lot ought to appear and feel pure and by no means pressured. Prefer it could possibly be no different means.”

This philosophy is clear in each piece she creates, the place the gem is all the time the star, and the design enhances its pure magnificence.

Alexia’s distinct model didn’t develop in isolation; it resulted from years of mentorship and exploration. Influenced by varied creative mentors, Alexia has formed her artistic imaginative and prescient into one thing distinctive. From photographer Thomas Roma, who inspired her to all the time attain increased, to painter and sculptor Nicolas Touron, who taught her to assume in three dimensions, every mentor has left a long-lasting imprint on her work.

Grasp jeweler Gennady Osmerkin confirmed Alexia what really magnificent craftsmanship appears and looks like, whereas Maurice Galli, famend for designing the brand new setting for the Hope Diamond, impressed her to design from the center. Galli’s steerage to attract inspiration from the world round her slightly than from different jewellery has helped Alexia craft an authentic and deeply private model.

The synergy of museum-quality gems, impressed design, and beautiful craftsmanship in Alexia Connellan’s jewellery culminate in a lifelong pursuit of magnificence. From her summers in Falmouth, Jamaica, the place her grandmother Lena taught her to understand every thing from Renaissance work to brightly coloured hummingbirds to her schooling in New York Metropolis, Alexia’s life has been a steady journey of creative exploration.

Rising up on the East Coast, Alexia would go to her grandmother each summer time, the place she fell in love with Jamaica’s vibrant colours and Georgian structure. This mix of construction and colour, often called Jamaican Georgian, closely influences her designs in the present day, bringing steadiness, proportion, and pleasure to her work.

Alexia’s formal schooling additional honed her creative imaginative and prescient. She earned a Bachelor of Arts diploma in Artwork Historical past and Visible Arts from Columbia College. She continued her research in sculpture on the Faculty of Visible Arts in New York. Her fascination with gems, sparked by childhood tales of Vikings utilizing the pleochroism of iolite to navigate, led her to gather gems significantly. This ardour for each artwork and gems naturally led her to jewellery design.

On the Trend Institute of Expertise, Alexia deepened her information with an AAS in Jewellery Design and a Certificates in Gemology, equipping her with the technical abilities to deliver her creative visions to life.

Starting with customized commissions, Alexia’s popularity for creating extraordinary jewels rapidly grew. In 2015, she launched her signature assortment of couture jewels, each bit impressed by the distinctive gems she had collected over time. Her work, such because the breathtaking Victoria Bracelet that includes a 16.06-carat purple-pink tourmaline, has been acknowledged in prestigious competitions just like the Spectrum Awards, showcasing her expertise.

Each bit Alexia creates is a testomony to her meticulous strategy to design. From the preliminary sketch to the ultimate polish, each element is thoughtfully thought-about to make sure that her jewellery is not only stunning, however heirloom-quality artwork that will probably be cherished for generations.

What I really like about her assortment:

Her consistency! Her assortment is created clearly across the gemstone, permitting it to be the present’s protagonist. Her design is contemporary, and it’s beautiful within the case of her masterpiece, the Phoenix brooch. It nonetheless touches all of the golden guidelines of high-end traditional jewellery design however along with her very personal distinctive twist. That is more durable to realize than one can think about, and but, right here she is! Rightfully successful AGTA awards and an undoubtingly, very shiny future. 

Phoenix brooch by Alexia Connellan encompasses a pavé of over 2,200 treasured gems and a gold wire mechanism that enables the wings to maneuver.