KEIKO MITA | K. MITA DESIGN

18K Yellow Gold Sand Dune Brooch Pin with Tiny Diamonds

Now is an optimum time to visit Rebun Island, a picturesque area off the northern tip of Hokkaido, Japan. The beautiful landscape is blanketed with some of the rarest alpine flowers.

The best way to explore the island is through a number of hiking trails, one of which is located on Gorota Beach off the island's western coast.

Japan is also the home of featured jewelry designer Keiko Mita.

Mita's elegant contemporary jewelry designs highlight diverse cultural influences including Canada, Japan, and the United States of America as well as Mongolia's great Gobi Desert.

Mita's award-winning career began when she became intrigued with the craft of shaping metal as she pursued her fine arts degree while attending Hokkaido University.

This unyielding fascination led her to attend The Emily Carr School of Design in Vancouver, Canada. Here she studied mixed-media sculpture, which involves the use of assorted materials to create a piece. Mita then traveled to New York to study jewelry design at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).

Upon building a solid educational base, Mita began to build a portfolio that included sculpture, artwork, and jewelry. She subsequently worked for a number of jewelry manufacturers in both Japan and the United States paying careful attention to respective techniques and styles.

In 1995, Mita made her first designs using 18-karat gold, platinum, and diamonds while working for a jewelry company based in Japan. Drawing from her work experience and education, Mita eventually established her own company, K. Mita Design, in 2002.

Presently, Mita's metals of choice are 18-karat yellow gold, and oxidized sterling silver with splashes of tiny diamonds, and brilliant colored gemstones. She has a wonderful capacity to add dimension to understated design. She does this by adding a touch of gorgeous texture to gold, or pulls out flat surfaces to create three-dimensional pendant necklaces.

For example, a circle pendant necklace is opened up by carving several shreds into the gold revealing oxidized silver on the inside. Mita sprays several, tiny diamonds along the shreds of this part oxidized silver, part gold pendant resulting in an appearance resembling stars racing pass a planet.

18K Yellow Gold Large Moire Shredded Round Pendant
on Wire Cable with Oxidized Sterling Silver
and Small Diamonds

In a mixed metal ring, she interlocks raised, carved shreds of oxidized silver and yellow gold.  The artistry of the simulated waves of sand in her Sand Dune Collection is stunning.

Galleries in New York and New Jersey have commissioned Mita's unique, breathtaking creations including the Aaron Faber Gallery, the Artrider Show, and Greene and Greene Gallery.

Since 1992, Mita has won numerous awards including first prize of the Van Cleef & Arpels, Inc. Award; The Creative Jewelry Award; the JJA Jewelry Award; and the De Beers Right Hand Ring Award.