JOSE HESS

Jose Hess's contemporary jewelry focuses on elegant curves and his motif includes working with circles and and lines. He uses diamonds as focal points in his artwork. He is a master goldsmith, and goes a step further in owning a degree in gemology.

As president of CIBJO (Confederation Internationale de la Bijouterie, Joaillerie et Orfeverie, A.K.A World Jewelry Confederation) he worked towards establishing an international standard for jewelers, and promote fair trade. He was also a President of the 24 Karat Club of New York City, the Plumb Club, and the Manufacturing Jewelers and Silversmiths of America.

So aside from paving the road for contemporary jewelry, he also helped to improve international standards.  A true Who's Who in the world of Bijoux.

STEPHEN WEBSTER

The glam-rock world of Stephen Webster is a vast and magical place. From the infamous forests of Thorn Noir, to the deep seas of Jewels Verne; from the fluttering night skies of Fly by Night, to the glittering caverns of Crystal Haze; Stephen Webster's collections will never cease to surprise and astonish.

His work is colorful, original, whimsical, ornamental, royal, eclectic, loud, and shrouded with so much personality and character that it would be impossible to keep it out of your sight for long. Webster is not a shy designer. His work is lauded all over the world and has won countless awards. He is a regular appearance at celebrity parties, and one of the top jewelers in the UK.

Each collection stems from a very specific figurative theme. For example, his Jewels Verne collection is all about deep sea creatures. Crustaceans, jelly fish, and shark maws are all figuratively featured in this collection. He covers his pieces with a myriad of colored gems, and creatively uses this as a setting for one big gem. A crab claw gingerly holds onto a water drop shaped opal, or a spider crab gently envelopes your finger.

Whether you are a shy and modest sophisticate, or an outgoing and eccentric collector, a Stephen Webster piece in your collection will make you smile no matter what.

YOSSI HARARI

Yossi Harari is an award winning Israeli designer and goldsmith. Influenced by the rich culture and artifacts that surrounded him, Yossi creates stunning 24k gold pieces, utilizing the hammering technique. The marks left by this technique make his jewelry organic and natural. They look as though the designer only had to gently coax the gold to its brilliant shape. Each jewel is an OOAK piece of art.

His work is exotic and designed to make a grand entrance. He uses bold ovals and chains as the motifs of his work. He loves to pave the yellow gold with colorful gems of different cuts, sizes, and colors. He also loves pairing it with black diamonds and black agents.

His work is truly magnificent and regal.

GEORG JENSEN

Georg Jensen Brand has been around since the beginning of the 20th century. He is one of the few designers to almost exclusively use sterling silver. He will sometimes work in 14K gold or stone, but for the most part he is known for his silver.

His classic work is usually made of broaches and cufflinks. He often depicts flowers or animals in dynamic poses. His style tends to contain his jewelry within a general shape - almost always a circle. Georg Jensen is also known for its silverware.
Sometimes more so than his jewelry.

The contemporary line is a lot more sleek than the classical original work of the designer. It still carries on his tradition of modesty and class, but with a small pinch of circa 2000 flare.

He has a very elegant touch. His jewelry is modest, and can adorn any outfit without being flashy or pretentious.

DAVID YURMAN

Although Yurman's style has become more uniform, and now that he is a player in the "big luxury brand" game, his style is still very distinct. It seems that he loves concentric and parallel lines. He uses his metal very boldly, and makes large attention grabbing pieces with it.

If Yurman were to have a signature, it would most definitely be a rope pattern. Most of his work has a twisted band of metal on it at least somewhere, if not the entire piece itself.

His approach to design seems to be with fashion in mind. The directness of his designs allows for his pieces to be worn with many different outfits and for any number of occasions. Aside from being bold, his work is very strategic, and a definite must for any fashionable lady.

ARTHUR KING

Arthur King's approach to gold jewelry is perhaps as unique as his namesake would suggest.  He doesn't attempt to control the gold, rather he lets it do its own thing. He uses the lost wax casting technique and creates  wispy  settings for raw gems and baroque pearls. He emulates both the geometric crystal forms found in earth, and the gnarly features one would find in rocks in his designs. His pieces look as if mother nature herself was presenting her gems to man.

GURHAN

Nobody needs to point out that Gurhan's jewelry is the most distinguishable from all others. Aside from being the first contemporary designer to work with pure gold, his pieces are embued with ancient inspired techniques and an old world aura. From first impressions, one assumes that they are handling a restored artifact rather than a piece of fine designer jewelry.

For the longest time, most jewelry designers considered 24 karat gold too soft to work with. Gurhan, however, denounced this. Going back to the roots of ancient gold smithing, he studied Anatolian, Ottoman, and Byzantine techniques and applied their teachings to his craft. The softness of the metal and the almost archeological approach to his jewelry gave way to beautiful, organic, and historic designs. By leaving hammer dents and natural imperfections in the gold, he gives his work a very handcrafted and personal touch. He will also carve precious and semiprecious stones, or incorporate ancient coins in his jewelry. It really is a kind all its own.

This season he introduces his new line called "4/24." In this line he partners his signature 24 karat gold with a rediscovered Ottoman alloy containing only 4 karats of gold.