VICTORIA BUCKLEY

Sydney, Australia is a cosmopolitan hive of culture, history and, of course, great beaches.

There's something for everyone. For the animal lover there's the Taronga Zoo, and Sydney Wildlife World; for architecture buffs there's the Queen Victoria Building, an astonishing structure housing shops and cafés; and for the antiquity lover, the Australian Museum.

Australia is also home to featured jewelry designer Victoria Buckley.

The whimsy of fairytales, the high adventure of Holy Grail legends, and the vibrant hues of Jaipur, India all serve Buckley's creativity and inspire her.

In 1992, while serving as an organizer for the Adelaide Arts Festival, Buckley found the unbridled creative expression of the sculptors and performers mesmerizing.

She already enjoyed painting, and the experience at the festival led her to a 3-year stint reading books on jewelry and metalwork, "I read goldsmithing books for 14 hours a day. One day I bought $10 worth of silver and I worked for two weeks making 10 deer talismans. Someone at a market stall bought one for $15."

Not long after the auburn-haired jeweler opened her first boutique in Strand Arcade, a hub for contemporary Australian designers, in Melbourne, Australia. Buckley's designs that include bracelets, stackable rings, pendant necklaces and earrings are fashioned from 18-karat yellow, rose and white gold, and platinum.

She scours different parts of the world for diamonds, garnets, tourmalines, rubies, and sapphires to accentuate the luster of the precious alloys. "Jewelry to me is something of deep meaning carrying as it does something of the hand that made it and the hand that wears it."

A member of the Gold and Silversmith's Guild of Australia, Buckley's most popular item is the posie (posey) ring; a gold band with a brief message of love engraved on the outside of the band. She creates custom posie rings as well, and includes distinctive, decorative engravings on most all of her rings.

I think her pieces possess an intrinsic, enchanting twinkle that has nothing to do with shiny gemstones or precious metals.

The motivation behind her creations is the simple desire to create "the sort of piece that could be dug up from under ruins in a thousand years and evoke stories in people's minds."
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Photo 1 (top right): 18-Karat Rose Gold, Rose Window Pendant Necklace
Photo 2 (bottom left): 18-Karat Yellow Gold Ring with Opal
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