Thursday, November 4, 2010

ANNY ALMASIDOU

One of the many legends surrounding Greece’s Knossos Palace is that the half man-half bull Minotaur creature roamed the locale. The palace is an extraordinary remnant of ancient times painstakingly restored by archeologists. Greece is also home to featured jewelry designer Anny Almasidou.


According to my research, ancient Greece served as the place of origin for wire jewelry; the styles of which encompassed the complex wire work of filigree to the streamlined yet intricate wire wrap jewelry.

Though her website does not state this, the Thessaloniki-born designer seems to base her modern jewelry collections on much more elementary renderings of wire jewelry.

The 31-year-old former interior designer and graduate of London’s Chelsea College of Art and Design, creates straightforward, unusual metal wire and metal jewelry pieces.

The outlines are simple, flower-like loops of colored wire while the interplay of metal wire with metal is highlighted in pieces that feature a single wire strung through a tiny coil of sterling silver.


The extremely minimalist designer jewelry starkly contrasts the grand and luminous renderings from ancient Greece but adequately presents Almasidou’s distinctive visual language.

Working with oxidized silver, gold plating, lava, olive stone, and crystal and gemstone beads, Almasidou’s subdued aesthetic suggests a modernism beyond the norm of what seems to be popular in mainstream fashion accessories.

The simple link bracelet of thin, open rectangular silver forms and earrings that are essentially discs of silver or crystal beads suspended from a wire evoke an image of what I imagine Almasidou’s contemporary woman embodies.

She is a practical sort who likes refinement and subtlety. From an occupational standpoint, she is a woman who holds a position of authority and does not want to see boardroom meetings crumble due to distracting flowery scents or jewelry that is too polished or too bold.

Within all of that practicality however, she would enjoy the palpable level of low-key uniqueness that Almasidou’s jewelry provides.

I think Almasidou’s decidedly unglamorous jewelry stands out as its very clean, organic proportions give it an unmistakable brisk personality.
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Photo 1 (top right): Silver Wire Earrings
Photo 2 (center): Silver Bracelet with Colored Wires
Photo 3 (bottom left): Silver, Crystal Lava, and Wire Earrings

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