Organic Jewellery

Organic Jewellery

When the term organic jewellery is heard, a number of things jump to the mind of what this might be as there are several types of organic jewellery that exist in the world of contemporary jewellery. When looking at the Virtual Gallery of Contemporary Jewellery’s paper on Organic Jewellery, it can be seen that there are several reasons why jewellers use nature as inspiration. The first type of jewellery that I looked at was jewellery that is physically made out of an organic (decomposable) object. The use of a natural object can be significant in expressing metaphors or narrative ideas such as: the sensitivity of nature, issues involving the destruction of nature caused by man, to showcase the specific natural beauty found in a specific place or region or the organic item may have a religious or cultural meaning if worn in jewellery form. The second type of organic jewellery is an item of jewellery that is made out of a non-organic material but mimics the forms and shapes of nature in a realistic way to show the unique beauty of nature or to express a metaphor or narrative idea. The third type of organic jewellery is jewellery that is made out of a non-organic material in forms found in nature but it is not done in a realistic manner. These natural forms are inspired by nature but are simplified to create only a hint of nature to create a more aesthetic object, to make an object more comfortable or wearable or like the above mentioned, to express a metaphor or narrative idea.

Neckpiece by: Kelly Jean Conroy Bone, Copper Silk
An example of organic jewellery (artist using actual organic material)

Brooch by: Sally Grant Sterling Silver, Vitreous enamel
An example of organic jewellery (artist using organic forms and made with inorganic materials)