EFVA ATTLING

18K Gold Genie Ear Earrings

One of Sweden’s most popular areas is the scenic city of Ostersund.  Located by the stunning Storsjon Lake, tourists visit the city in the hope of catching a glimpse of the mythical creature Storsjöodjuret.  Sweden is also home to featured jewelry designer Efva Attling.

KATHLEEN BAIRD

Sterling Silver Flower Stacking Rings

Standing at over 400 feet, the London Eye Ferris Wheel is one of the tallest ferris wheels in the world.

Standing on the banks of the River Thames and sandwiched between the Westminster and Hungerford bridges, the 13-year-old structure is visited by over 3 million people a year.  England is also home to Kathleen Baird.

YIRA KAHN

24-Karat Gold Vermeil Rosette Collar Necklace

Samańa, a city and municipality located in northeastern region of the Dominican Republic, is a stunning exotic locale with long beaches and crystal clear blue waters.  

The Dominican Republic is also the birthplace of featured jewelry designer Yira Kahn.

AFRICA BARRERA

Sterling Silver Dazzle Chain Necklace

It is flanked by a cathedral, a palace, and federal district buildings and it is among the world’s largest city squares. 

This square is known as the Zócalo located in “the heart” of Mexico City, Mexico.  Mexico is also home to featured jewelry designer Africa Barrera.

JANINA DIZON HOSCHKA

Multi-Colored Stingray Cuff Bracelets

The Philippines’ Chocolate Hills, located in the Central Visayas region, is an area consisting of nearly 2,000, naturally occurring hills and is one of the country’s most popular destinations. 

The mounds are widely believed to be a combination of marine limestone overlaid with clay and depending on the season they transform from green to brown.  The Philippines is also home to featured jewelry designer Janina Dizon Hoschka.

TEMEL BAHADIR | TEMEL'S METALWORK

Mixed Metal Ring with Copper, Bronze, Brass
Alpaca and Titanium

You can take your pick of exploring either mountain ranges or exotic beaches within Antalya, Turkey. 

Walking along the beaches of Antalya provides a precursor to water activities including wind surfing, sailing and water skiing.  Turkey is also home to featured jewelry designer Temel Bahadir.

ALEXANDRA BETH DESIGNS

14-Karat Gold Plated Fan Ring

Just over 100 years old New York’s Flatiron Building, located in Manhattan, is a unique structure designed by Daniel Burnham. 

The building is patterned after Greek columns as it sits on a “triangular block with Beaux-Arts styling.”  New York is also home to featured jewelry designer Alexandra Beth Samit.

MAI SATO FLORES

14-Karat Gold Filled Rising Sun Necklace w/Garnet and Moonstone

The Kasuga Grand Shrine, located in Nara, Japan, is an 8^th century temple built by one of the country’s most powerful families, the Fujimaras.  

The Shinto temple is characterized by stunning bronze and stone lanterns.  Japan is also the birthplace of featured jewelry designer Mai Sato Flores.

KLEMENTYNA PIELASZKIEWICZ

With an interior requiring four hours to explore, Poland’s Malbork Castle is renowned as Europe’s largest “medieval fortress.”  

Built during the late 13^th century, the structure was named after the Virgin Mary and consists of three smaller castles.  Poland is also home to featured jewelry designer Klementyna Pielaszkiewicz.

YUKI MITSUYASU

Believed to have been discovered during the 7th century, Japan’s ominous Mount Fuji is the country’s tallest mountain at over 12,000 feet.

The frigid region was once the training location of samurai warriors, and in 1867 Lady Fanny Parkes was the first woman to ascend the peak.

Japan is also the ancestral home of featured jewelry designer Yuki Mitsuyasu.

NORITAMY JEWELRY

Israel’s ancient city of Caesarea, once the location for gladiator games and the home of Herod the Great, is now a cosmopolitan location of industrial parks, museums, universities, and hotels. Israel is also the home base for brand Noritamy Jewelry.

CARLOS and CYNTHIA RENDON

The ancient Maya site known as Calakmul is surrounded by a dense jungle region in the Mexican state of Campeche.

It holds over one hundred obelisks that represent ancient rulers and their spouses. Mexico is also home to brother-sister design team Carlos and Cynthia Rendon.

CLARA BREEN

A natural wonder composed of limestones and coccoliths has inspired songwriters, novelists, and poets. Located along the British coastline near Kent, England is the White Cliffs of Dover. England is also home to featured jewelry designer Clara Breen.

It is always interesting to see how a jewelry designer conceptualizes something as everyday as leaves, hair or paper into designs that are truly works of wearable art.

The designer jewelry of Nel Linssen (Netherlands) and Kiwon Wang (Korea) devote their respective collections to reinforced paper and nylon thread, and stacked, paper discs accented with pearls, while among Pawel Kaczynski’s (Poland) assortment of daring jewelry is an incredible metal bracelet in the form of a single, dreadlock.

It is a fascinating process of transference when a designer hones in on the understated nuances of an object—manmade or natural—capturing its essence within gold or sterling silver.

A graduate of the University of Brighton, Breen holds a bachelor’s degree in Three-Dimensional Crafts. Like her contemporaries Linssen and Wang she shares an attraction to paper, as well as leaves.


The focus of Breen’s aesthetic is twofold: first, she implements “fragments of found paper” such as train tickets, leaflets, and receipts into designs paired with sterling silver. The combination of materials are ridged, crinkled and curved with oxidized sterling silver earrings developing into forms resembling tiny seahorses.

Second, the designer takes individual sterling silver and 9-karat gold sheets forging the metal into finely textured forms that are reminiscent of the withering leaves of fall.

Everything from the gold necklaces offset with freshwater pearls, to silver rings with paper settings to crunched sterling silver earrings seem so weightless and delicate in their distinctive, organic forms.

“I create bold strata-like constructions with found paper combined with silver. The forms suggest a “personal landscape” composed of many mundane experiences,” says Breen.

“Attaching these apparently worthless paper items to gold and silver expresses their value to me, as tangible remains of a personal experience.

The visual language of geological stratas, corrugating metal and the forging process allows pieces to grow into unique forms. No two pieces are exactly the same.”

Breen’s dainty jewelry is available to buy online at lovedazzle.com, an affiliate website of the online gallery Dazzle Exhibitions.
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Photo 1 (top right): Sterling Silver Textured Necklace
Photo 2 (center): Sterling Silver and 9-Karat Gold Textured Bracelet
Photo 3 (bottom left): Sterling Silver Layer Pendant Necklace

RUDKLOW PATANAANUNWONG

We stand along the Chao Phraya River's west bank in Thailand, taking in the beauty and learning the history of the Wangderm Palace.

Though clearly Thai in its architecture, the structure is actually considered the first Thai building influenced by American aesthetics.

As we move along the grounds, we learn there are shrines to whalebones, Thai coins, and antique ceramics located here. Thailand is also the home of featured jewelry designer Rudklow Patanaanunwong.

ALICIA de la PAZ

We are taking a scenic drive today through the lovely town of Taxco, Mexico, which is nestled between Acapulco and Mexico City.

Amidst the cobblestone streets, and red tile rooftops, there is a thriving, 80-year-old silver jewelry industry.

The town therefore has the distinction of being Mexico's silver capital. Mexico is also the home of featured jewelry designer Alicia de la Paz.

SHONA JEWELLERY

We are in Glasgow, Scotland today visiting the Green Botanical Gardens, which is a pleasant escape from the city's bustling streets. A marriage of city park and museum the garden houses interesting sights to investigate.

There is the Enormous Doulton Fountain made entirely of terracotta, and believed to be the largest fountain in the world!

Scotland is also the hometown of featured jewelry designer, Shona Macaulay Fidgett.

ACHARA SILVER CO., LTD.

Thailand houses some of the world's most beautiful beaches, and today we will visit the serene beaches of Koh Lao Liang.

As we recline on our lounge chairs, we lose sense of time and space staring up at the towering limestone cliffs, and patches of white clouds dancing above them. Thailand is also the home base of jewelry brand Achara Silver Co., Ltd.

NIKOLAI BALABIN

Today we explore the international flora of St. Petersburg's Botanical Garden.

In 1714, the garden was founded by order of Peter the Great and is presently one of the oldest botanical gardens in Russia.

Russia is also the birthplace of featured jewelry designer Nikolai Balabin.

NYOMAN SUKARTINI

Today we stand within the Bali Botanic Gardens in Indonesia refreshed by the cool climate, and invigorating air.

The gardens have a spectacular orchid collection and house a botanical library, laboratory, nursery, herbarium, and five greenhouses.

Indonesia is also the home of featured jewelry designer Nyoman Sukartini.

CLAUDIA LIRA

Today we will take a trip through time to the incredible Pachacamac Ruins in Lima, Peru. The powerful mysticism of the ruins can still be felt while walking through the halls of Acllahuasi, the Pilgrims' Plaza, and the Temple of the Sun. Lima, Peru is also home to featured jewelry designer Claudia Lira.

Every cloud has a silver lining, but if Lira has anything to do with it she would fashion that silver line into something fabulous.

A graduate of Holland's TSU - Vakschool Schoonhoven, Lira loves to craft clean forms using silver. Once she completed her studies, Lira returned to Peru in 1997 to begin her workshop.

Motivated by the unending beauty within nature, art, and life experiences, Lira aspired to create high quality silver jewelry for her clientele.

The elegant, clean lines of pieces like her Various Elements Pendant are Lira's signature. Lira's use of gemstones is minimal opting instead to highlight geometric forms in silver alloy with a high gloss, matte, or textured finish. "My work results from fusion of influences from two continents - the Americas and Europe," she says.

Collaborating with her sister, Marliz, Lira believes that enthusiasm, and a positive attitude stimulates creativity while also creating a fun, productive work environment.

Positioned at the forefront of Peru's silver industry, Lira's handmade jewelry designs possess a cool sophistication that brings actor Grace Kelly to mind. They are understated yet dramatic; fashionable and modern; regal and exotic.

Lira's wares are also sold at Novica.com, and exhibitions of her work have been held in Italy, The Netherlands, Peru, and Switzerland.
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Photo 1 (top right): High Gloss Sterling Silver Avocado Ring with Amethyst
Photo 2 (bottom left): High Gloss and Textured Sterling Silver Peak Links Tribute Necklace