Zaffiro: Elizabeth and Jack Gualtieri
Granulation, Geometry & Process
Fascinated by process and inspired by harmonies in nature, Zaffiro's founders, Jack and Elizabeth Gualtieri, create exquisite jewelry featuring the ancient technique of granulation in their Portland, Oregon studio. The Gualtieris have developed new 22K white and rose gold alloys specifically for the granulation process, they have perfected a technique for granulating platinum onto 22K gold, and have created a method for granulating platinum onto platinum.
We asked them about their creative process and what it is like to be partners in both business and life.
Q. We know that you are strongly influenced by Italy, especially the Etruscan granulation method. Why did you call your company Zaffiro, which means sapphire in Italian?
Elizabeth: We wanted our company name to have a jewelry-related theme and we wanted it to be an Italian word to reflect both the history of granulation as well as Jack's heritage. There were several early contenders, but Zaffiro was the most appealing because it was easy to pronounce and the letter "Z" has such great presence, visually.
Q. What period of art history influences your design?
Elizabeth: Well, we have named our cats after Gustav Klimt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Louis Sullivan. The late 19th Century to the early 20th Century had such an exuberant creative explosion not only in painting, but in the decorative arts and architecture, that I find that time period to be an endless supply of inspiration.
Jack: It is hard to pinpoint just one period in art history. I gravitate to a lot of different design movements and sometimes find influences in the most unusual things. It could be the frame of a Gustav Klimt painting that is carved in high relief, the curves of a Henry Moore sculpture, a Clyde Butcher photograph, or even music.
Q: Was there ever a particular piece in a museum in Italy that stopped you in your tracks and made you say, "I want to do that?"
Elizabeth: I have those moments quite often, usually in response to sculpture or architecture. I remember that I was blown away when I saw the gates that Albert Paley created for the Renwick Gallery in Washington, DC. And most recently, I have become completely enamored of the work of an artist named Patrick Dougherty.
Jack: When I was just starting to notice and appreciate art in high school, I went to the Norton Art Gallery in West Palm Beach. They had an exhibit on mystery clocks. It included pieces from Cartier and Faberge, names that I had never heard before. These timepieces fascinated me and I think helped influence my decision to pursue art and get a degree in industrial design.
Elizabeth: We don't name all of our pieces, just the significant works and the names are usually allegorical. Mielikki is the ancient Finnish goddess of the forest, most often represented clothed in shades of green. She was a powerful goddess in a country where the forest was of central importance - providing food through hunting, gathering and cattle grazing. It was believed to be very important to stay on her good side. We want wearing this necklace to be a transformative experience and we want the woman who owns this piece to feel like the goddess Mielikki when she wears it.
Elizabeth: The quality I most love about granulation is that because of the geometry of these miniature spheres of gold, we can combine them in myriad ways to enhance each particular design. Both Jack and I are the odd artists who love mathematics.
Our new Etrusco collection which combines hand-forged, oxidized sterling silver with 22K granulation has allowed us to introduce a rough hewn and rustic element to our work in contrast to the precise granulation. It has also allowed us more freedom in the scale of our work since the cost of silver is so much less than gold.
Jack: Geometry was one of my favorite subjects in school. I found it fascinating. I like that granulation naturally forms a sense of order and patterns. Granulation opens up many opportunities to incorporate different metalsmithing techniques to give our work a variety of dimensions. A great example of this would be the piece Elizabeth created, the Cabinet of Curiosities. Another way we give our work more visual interest is to incorporate platinum, 22K white gold, and 22K rose gold granulation. This allows us to broaden the color palette of our designs and create intricate visual combinations.
Since all of our gold pieces have been one-of-a-kind, the Etrusco collection was our first real effort to create an a line that could be reproduced and ordered by stores. With the price of gold on the rise, we want to create artful pieces that are affordable. One way to do that is to incorporate sterling silver into our work. The addition of silver has allowed us to experiment with larger pieces that would be cost-prohibitive in high karat gold.
Q. Do you have a favorite commissioned piece that you can tell us about?
Elizabeth: Every artist should have a patron. We have been lucky enough to have an amazing friend and collector for whom we have created a number of significant pieces. She has a very discerning eye for gemstones, like the gorgeous 6 carat pink topaz in the pendant. (Pictured here to the right.) She is always an enjoyable partner in design. What I love about this piece, named Fantasia, isn't necessarily one particular element, but the collaborative design process involved in its evolution from statement gem to finished idea. It is a piece, for me, that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Jack: I would agree with Elizabeth. The colors of all the gemstones and the design are perfect.
Elizabeth: The inspiration I get from the natural world is more micro than macro - I love unusual foliage and flowers and Portland is a great place to indulge in plant collecting. Jack would say that I've never met a Hen-and-chick (a variety of succulent) that I didn't like and want to take home.
Jack: And most of our vacation photos are close-up shots of rocks and trees, but no people. Occasionally, one of us accidently gets into a photo, like this one from our rafting trip on the San Juan River in southern Utah this fall. Nature has so much to offer for artists and designers, you just have to look!
Q. How do you handle working together and being married? Do you each have separate jobs or is it a collaborative effort?
Elizabeth: It seems so natural to me that I don't think about it as something we handle, it is something that makes our relationship richer. We do have separate jobs on the business side, but on the goldsmithing side we both design and make the pieces. Typically we work on our own pieces from start to finish, the only collaboration is usually in the design process.
Jack: I cannot imagine working any other way. We each have our strong points in the business that seem to compliment each other and rarely compete. Elizabeth and I each design and create our own pieces, but we will consult each other through the building process to see what the other person thinks. That way, it allows the other person to give an objective opinion and more than likely contribute something to the final design.
Q. What is your favorite thing about jewelry design?
Elizabeth: I love creating beautiful objects.
Jack: I really enjoy the process of building/creating something that previously did not exist and that will hopefully last forever.
Q. What is your favorite thing to do outside of jewelry design?
Elizabeth: Gardening - another creative design process and a great stress reliever.
Jack: It is hard to pick just one thing. Restoring our 1913 bungalow, travel, gardening...these things help me relax and recharge.
We'd like to thank Elizabeth and Jack for taking the time to share with us their thoughts on the creation of their jewelry. We look forward to seeing more of the fruits of their prolific collaboration in the future. You can view more of their work on their website.
-CJDG Editorial
Reader Comments