My blogs

South African Goldsmiths Research Project

About me

Location	Pretoria, South Africa
Introduction	My fascination with the creative joy behind precious metal artistry has made me want to know more about South African precious metal artists and their creations. I know there are others too who share in this quest to record our gold- and silversmiths' pursuit of beauty and wonder - an appreciation of the interplay amongst design, texture, colour, reflection of light. During a school holiday in 1969, I learned how to cut and polish semi-precious stones by hand. This lead to a life long fascination with the design of jewellery. At collectors' markets I noticed the makers' marks of local jewelelry but found very little documented information. I began spending time in the National archives and interviewing retired goldsmiths Through their eyes, I began to record and compile as much as I can about their legacies. A childhood hobby has evolved into agreater appreciation of local precious metal artistry.

Location

Pretoria, South Africa

Introduction

My fascination with the creative joy behind precious metal artistry has made me want to know more about South African precious metal artists and their creations. I know there are others too who share in this quest to record our gold- and silversmiths' pursuit of beauty and wonder - an appreciation of the interplay amongst design, texture, colour, reflection of light. During a school holiday in 1969, I learned how to cut and polish semi-precious stones by hand. This lead to a life long fascination with the design of jewellery. At collectors' markets I noticed the makers' marks of local jewelelry but found very little documented information. I began spending time in the National archives and interviewing retired goldsmiths Through their eyes, I began to record and compile as much as I can about their legacies. A childhood hobby has evolved into agreater appreciation of local precious metal artistry.