Contemporary jewellery serves to be a form of art, and makers are no longer constrained by a limiting choice of materials. Indeed acrylic, Perspex, paper, resin and titanium can hold as much value in their beauty as some traditional materials such as gold, silver, platinum and precious gemstones. However, it is not so much the choice of material that distinguishes the very best of contemporary jewellery apart from tradition. Rather, we should look at the meaning and significance of today’s creations.
Perhaps first we should understand the contemporary designer-makers or jewellers. Some have emerged from a background in creative design, be that through textiles, painting, graphic design or indeed jewellery design. Some are experienced jewellers and have developed their style to suit today’s market. Each has an appreciation of using unconventional standards of beauty and embodies a notion in their work that jewellery can be as potent a stimulus to thought, as to sheer sensual pleasure.
Contemporary jewellery makers seek to sell their creations through craft and art galleries, and also through shops, or by commission. Much of the jewellery you see on the High Street tends to be the more “safer” creations, as a designer has to consider the commercial aspect of their collections. But this is not to say that the more radical jewellery does not have a home.
Element Jewellery houses some fantastic contemporary jewellery collections by designers from all over the UK. We are dedicated in bringing our customers a varied choice of some of the best in contemporary jewellery design.