Artists as Jewellery Designers

Picasso designed this gold pendant

Alexander Calder's Bird Brooches

Salvador Dali's Lip Brooch - Rubies and Pearls


Alongside Alexander Calder, there are many other well known artists who have designed some beautiful pieces of jewellery...

You may have heard of Alexander Calder, an American artist. He created a lot of art work including some famous 'mobiles'. What you may not know is that he also produced some unusual jewellery. During his life he created 1,800 pieces of brass, silver and gold body adornments, including necklaces, bracelets, tiaras, and brooches. Some of his work is held at the Calder Foundation, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art http://www.metmuseum.org/ dedicated an exhibition of jewellery to his work in early 2009. One of the motifs he used a lot was a fish which became a design for his brooches.

Funky designer - Clara Francis

Bead Beautiful
Like trinket jewellery? Then you'll love Clara Francis...

Clara is self taught. Through trial, exploration, experiment, books and vintage patterns she learned the intricate process of beading. Foxes, Birds, Butterflies, Flowers, & some of them are even three dimensional and crafted to drape, they are inspired by nature. Recently the Victoria and Albert Museum invited Clara to design a piece inspired by something within the museum. Clara chose an antique Huguenot Tapestry & the result is a necklace, exquisite three dimensional flowers cascading from the neckline to the waist.