Jewelry connects us to history, to the earth, and to each other. My work is part of an ancient tradition that for thousands of years has reflected human beliefs, memories, and meaning through its craft. 

Relief showing goldsmiths weighing and smelting gold to make collars and jewelry, tomb of Mereruka, Saqqara, Egypt, ca. 2349 BCE (Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago)

The 22-karat gold alloy I create for my jewelry is similar to the gold found in the ancient Mediterranean. It enabled the ancient Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Greeks and others to master goldsmithing techniques like granulation and chain weaving – the same techniques I use to craft my jewelry today.

My alloying process involves carefully weighing and measuring 24k gold grains from a refinery in the Diamond District in New York City, along with small amounts of fine silver and pure copper. Next, I use a torch to liquify and combine the metals together in a handheld crucible.

Once all the metals are combined, I pour the liquid gold from the crucible into a mold to form an ingot of 22k gold. I also alloy 20k gold, which is stronger, for ring shanks, clasps, ear wires, and bails. Both 22k and 20k are called high-karat gold because they are close to pure gold: 22k is 92% gold, compared to 14k, for example, which is 58% gold.

The next step is to forge the ingot to strengthen and shape the gold before forming it into sheet and wire. Forging gold with a hammer and anvil is one of the most fundamental practices in metalsmithing – and one that hasn’t changed for thousands of years, except for the introduction of steel tools. I love the marks that the forging hammer and pliers make at this stage, and I am always reminded that gold is beautiful in all its forms.

After forging, I mill the gold ingot into sheet and pull it into wire to create the raw materials for my jewelry. To create sheet, I anneal (or soften) the ingot and then pass it through a rolling mill that, over many rounds of annealing and milling, forms thinner and thinner sheet until it is the gauge required for my jewelry. To create wire, I undertake a similar process of annealing and shaping the gold. This time, I draw the ingot through successively smaller holes on a drawplate to create wire of the shape and size needed for my jewelry. 

Once the raw materials of sheet and wire are made, I shape each component of my jewelry individually, including granules of varying sizes, bezels to hold each unique stone, and the ring bands, ear wires, clasps, and bails required to connect each component. Once I solder together the components into the final form of an earring, ring, or necklace, each piece is carefully polished and finished by hand.