Podcast: Articial Intelligems

The concept of “Artificial Intelligems” delves into the artistic possibilities and potential dangers of machine learning in the modern jewelry industry. By collaborating with self-teaching algorithms, novel forms of adornment are emerging within the realm of the physical and digital. This approach challenges and reconsiders human-centered design, materiality, value, and authorship, potentially perpetuating them further. […]

Pretty on Pink

Grey is conspicuously unobtrusive. In 2017/18 it was spotlighted in all conceivable nuances between black and white, along with new materials that inspired jewelry artists in their respective eras at Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim. Different mindsets are manifested in this colour spectrum: reticence in mourning jewelry crafted from iron, refined understatement in diamond jewelry, or dispassionate sobriety […]

Podcast: Jewelry Connoisseur

An observant and deliberate painter, Vermeer produced only 36 known works in his lifetime, while many of his contemporaries completed hundreds. Like his peers, he mostly depicted scenes of ordinary life, later called “genre” painting, often of women at daily tasks. Notable examples include Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window (c. 1657) and […]

Angels’ Tears or Gems of the Ocean

Of delicate beauty, extreme rarity and immense value, pearls have always been objects of desire. Back in antiquity, people went pearl hunting in the Persian Gulf in search of pearls of superlative quality. After Alexander the Great conquered Persia, they also made their way to Europe. In the course of time, pearls have become shrouded […]

The History of Jewelry

The earliest jewelry known to mankind was created by Neanderthal living in Europe. Some 115,000 years ago, perforated beads made from tiny Nassarius sea shells were discovered in the Cueva de los Aviones, a cave located on the southeast coast of Spain. In Enkapune Ya Muto, Kenya, beads constructed from pierced ostrich egg shells were […]

All the City Feels

Exquisite and exhilarating, jewelry creations from the major metropolises of the world all have that endearing je ne sais quoi. Jewelry created in large cities dating back to classical antiquity and advancing well into the 20th century were on display as part of Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim’s exhibition entitled “The Feel of the City – Jewelry from […]