What I do

I am a contemporary jeweller based in Johannesburg, South Africa, where I have a studio and gallery called Tinsel. I studied jewellery design at the tech in Durban, after doing a BA in Archaeology at Wits, and a few years ago I went back to Wits to do an Honours in Art History and then a Masters in Fine Art. I’ve participated in several group shows of jewellery and fine art, and two solo shows.

In terms of style, my pieces are often quite layered and figurative and I like to use motifs associated with historical jewellery that is overtly sentimental.

I generally work with precious materials – silver, gold, diamonds, pearls and other precious stones – as well as less traditional materials such as plastics and found objects. Craftsmanship is very important to me, and I hand-make my pieces using traditional goldsmithing techniques.

My current work is all about consctruction: in the Rough Range I use sheets of wax to build the piece, which is then cast into silver, and I leave the surfaces quite rough. I'm playing around with very traditional forms in terms of the design, but reinterpreting them quite radically by using non-traditional ways of making the pieces.

Most of my pieces are one-of-a-kind, but I can repeat certain elements, so if you want something same-same but different I can do that for you. I am happy to do commissions - I love making bespoke jewellery, the more personal the better.

Get in touch with me on geraldine@tinsel.co.za