About
Vena Amoris stemmed from my fascination with the idea of the engagement ring throughout history. It's rumored the ancient Romans would give a string of hemp and tie it onto a lover’s finger as a remembrance. Puritans in the early colonial period of the United States customarily refused to wear jewelry based on the belief of it being ostentatious and frivolous, and would instead exchange a thimble at the time of betrothal. After the wedding, the thimble's cup was often cut off and the rim would be worn as a ring. Far from the roots of these simple tokens of promise and affection, the tradition of the day (born out of the extensive marketing campaigns of the 1930s-50s) has shifted into women wanting a $10,000 ring because they saw an ad on TV.
Where does Vena Amoris fall in here? I make my bespoke work based on my love of pieces from a long ago era. The majority of which have been greatly influenced by my interest in the Middle Ages and Renaissance religious art and most of all Mideast and Mediterranean jewelry.
In my 20's I would wander through the cloisters in New York City looking in awe of all the work on reliquaries. And after many trips to the Mideast, my curiosity got the better of me and I began to smith. Each piece is individually handcrafted, starting from the alloying of the metal, then to the fabrication of the pieces. I work with mostly sapphires and diamonds and I make a conscious choice for most of the center diamonds I use based on their unique qualities. What is conventionally seen as flawed I see at a one of a kind design by nature. Just like a relationship, it carries its darkness and light within it, and when taken as a whole, shows the dynamic beauty of its inherent qualities; creating something utterly unique to you and your partner.
