JEWELLERY

New Zealand jewellery is often inspired by Maori and Pacific Island culture. Many of the New Zealand jewellers and jewellery designers, whose work is featured in our gallery, craft unique hand made jewellery such as NZ earrings, pendants, rings and tiki using a variety of stones and metals including silver, gold, jade and paua. Some of the New Zealand jewellery designs and designers we feature are:

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Adriana and Chris Hendel are New Zealanders of Dutch origin. Adriana has many years experience as a potter and a painter while Chris has an engineering and teaching background. They are keen sailors around the New Zealand coastline and capture enough information during their extensive trips, in the form of sketches and photos for a years work. Their ideas are combined into the colour and light which is displayed by their Dichroic (Two Colours) Glass pendants which are set in Sterling Silver and include a 16" snake chain.

Andrew White has been making jewellery since the 1960s and specializes in beautiful and uniquely designed "one off" pieces as well as standard lines. His pieces use opal, bone, paua, copper, brass, bronze, nickel silver, stainless steel, sterling silver, 9ct and 18ct gold and resins'.

Gavan Riley is a leading New Zealand jeweller whose rings, brooches and bracelets are uniquely designed and made from silver, gold and platinum. His jewellery is based around the flora, fauna and natural elements of New Zealand and is admired and collected world-wide.

Hepi Maxwell is a leading Aotearoa New Zealand carver of pounamu (greenstone) and bone. His work carries the toi iho (Maori made) registered mark which his status as a member of Ngatirangiwewehi o Rotorua iwi and as a greestone and bone carver of note entitles him to use. His pieces are now frequently commissioned by the government for overseas dignatories and he is also invited to demonstrate his art at various forums throughout the world.

Joachim Penneckendorf is originally from Germany but settled in New Zealand over fifteen years ago. Jade (nephrite, pounamu, greenstone) is his preferred medium. His work is in demand world-wide.

John Ecuyer is a noted contemporary New Zealand woodturner and jewellery artist who is based in the New Zealand north. His work is in collections throughout the world. The necklace listed by us uses greenstone silver and ebony with a Mako shark tooth-end piece.

John Harries considers that his jewellery is like a journey combining the beauty of nature and the natural forces of the world to create his art. He uses a range of media such as sterling silver, gold, paua, Coconut wood, rubies, garnets, citrene and peridot.

Paua pearls. New Zealand paua (abalone) pearls are grown in a marine aquaculture venture using a combination of pearling techniques to produce unique, spectacularly coloured mabe pearls which can be purchased on their own or in a range of jewellery items.

Wilfrid Dickerson has been a jeweller for over 25 years. He started from a traditional manufacturing jewellery background, and now applies his technical skills to individually handcrafting natural forms and materials The mountains and wild coastal regions of New Zealand, where he spends much of his time, influence his art. Materials used in the brooches listed are paua shell, sterling silver and gold.

Ann Ambler is a New Zealand artist. In the 1980s she was well known for her ceramics, as a member of Albany Village Pottery and President of Auckland Studio Potters. Later in that decade, the New Zealand Government sent her to Indonesia,to start a ceramic project on the island of Lombok. When her contract ended she decided to design textiles and silver jewellery. Ann now lives overseas however her jewellery designs still have a strong New Zealand and Pacific rim influence. She works with silver, New Zealand paua, New Zealand jade, pearls, bone and semi-precious stones. Ann incorporates traditional and contemporary designs.

Astrid Christine and her husband Rud are proud to have their beautiful glass jewellery represented in several collections all over the world. They were featured in the NZ House & Garden Magazine in July 2005, in the American Glass Line Magazine February/March 2005 edition, and also in the Bead Review 2005 (The Art Of Beadmaking). They were also invited artists in the eastcapeART Gisborne Working Artfest 2006.

Kelcey Chandler-Yates' jewellery is made of silica and dichroic glass coloured in the shimmering reds, oranges, yellows and blues of the tropical reef fish, the sparkle of crystal and deep blues inspired by the endless night sky and the vivid greens of the spectacular islands of her home in New Zealand. Her delicate awareness and a state of being one with her subjects, makes her a true artist transcending her own perceptions to bring you the magic of other dimensions.

Sarah Johns lives in a seaside settlement north of Auckland. She has a Diploma in Jewellery (1996) from the Hungry Creek Art and Craft School, where she was awarded a Merit for jewellery design excellence at the 10th Anniversary Graduates Exhibit. Her silver jewellery, often with a Maori design theme, is in strong demand.

Len and Candy Kay's pendants are carved from deer coronets or deer buttons - the solid bone base of naturally shed deer antler. They are "signed" by the artist - their initials are engraved into the reverse of the caving. They all come with a standard 54cm cord with a bone or horn toggle and are in their natural surround with a leather backing. Occasionally the deer buttons are large enough to accommodate two carvings - usually a large and a small. These make ideal gifts for couples, weddings, twins or siblings.

Maggie De Grauw brought a lifelong fascination for costume jewellery, combined with the ability to view ordinary objects found while fossicking as extraordinary, to the range of jewellery she sells. She describes her style as contemporary, ethnic and occasionally glamorous. Gemstones, shell and pearls feature strongly in her work as do more unusual materials such as kina, coconut, pebbles and feathers.

Omni Caeon says that in 1988 she was fortunate to see an exhibition of jade work by Donn Salt. She was awed and deeply moved by the perfect beauty and intrinsic life of his works and so was extremely happy when, in 1989, the artist consented to instruct her in basic stone working. In 1991 she was able to establish her own business working as a professional jade carver.

Rick and Jenny Bromhead work as a team developing their beautiful jewellery. Rick, a qualified jeweller, specializes in mounting diamonds and precious stones and has been in the jewellery trade for over 35 years. Jenny has always had a keen interest in art and loves colour and design. These components have come together into a mix of traditional Maori and original art nouveau jewellery using gold, silver, precious, and semi-precious stones and New Zealand paua shell that is refreshingly different.

MATERIALS & FORMS