Silver Madness

Oversized and sculptural in terms of shape for the latest jewels in silver.













1. Sass & Bide 2. San Lorenzo 3. Giovanni Raspini 4. Alina Alamorean 5. Frank Gehry 6. Kris Ruhs 7. Sandro Ramazotti 8. Nanis 9. Jewellery Theatre 10. Nathalie Jean 11. Chiara BCN

Versatile and functional, young and affordable – silver is the metal that more than any other lends itself to artistic and sculptural uses. It’s very ductile and malleable, a little harder than gold and adaptable to large sizes and plastic shapes. For Buddhists it even represents virtue. When it is made into jewelry, it is often displayed in art galleries as part of limited-edition pieces. Artists like Kris Ruhs focus on multiplying elements in natural shapes. Jewelers like Giovanni Raspini emphasizes on figurative reproductions of naturalistic subjects.

If the fashion world took inspiration from the creations of Paco Rabanne who dressed Jane Fonda as Barbarella in futuristic tunics made out of silver plates, jewelry designers looked to a more formal interpretation with high-impact power pieces. When silver is used as a textile, it can be turned into an ultra-modern ruff around the neck as in the case of San Lorenzo or a breastplate, like in the case of Mercure by Nathalie Jean, which highlights how faithful the artist is to soft, sinuous movements. French designer Alina Alamorean has an abstract and "disorderly" sense of sculpture while architect Frank Gehry is rigorous and minimalist. But it’s the “molecular” jewels from Jewellery Theatre that shows the scientific side of silver pieces.

(Vogue.it)