Skeletal metal ring

We are only one day away from the biggest American orthopaedic convention (AAOS), which is held in Las Vegas this year. Also from Las Vegas is Skeletal Metal, a jewelry company that uses stainless steel reconstruction plates normally used in orthopaedic surgery. What a coincidence! It all started when orthopaedic surgeon dr Mike Crovetti bent a stainless steel reconstruction ("ReCon") plate into a ring and started wearing it. Many people who saw the ring were intrigued by the use of a surgical steel plate in jewelry. So he teamed up with Marty Cordova and Anthony Bonifazio to form 'Skeletal Metal'.

The surgical metal is simply bent into shape to make the ring. It is often also necessary to bend the plate to fit the plate to the bone in surgery, so it is exactly the same when worn outside the body, as it is when surgically placed inside the body! In surgery this type of plate is commonly used to fix the broken bones of the forearm, elbow, pelvis and collarbone. The holes are filled by surgical screws to piece the broken bone together.

To me, it seems like a fun way for people that had surgery to display what is inside their body on the outside!
It didn't stay with just rings, now a whole series of jewelry is available with or without screw holes.

Many thanks to The Carrotbox Jewelry Blog - rings, rings, rings!

Boules

The other day I went to a restaurant that served two gold-covered hazelnuts on top of the chocolate dessert. We laughed! I kind of forgot about gold being used with chocolates and it got me thinking about choclate being used in jewelry. So after a bit of web-surfing, these 'Boules' by Barbara Uderzo are what caught my eye! In 2004, she made a few different kinds of chocolate jewels, but the Boules stand out. Not just because they are covered with goldleaf, which makes a beautiful color combination with the dark, earthy chocolate and shiny bright gold, but also by their design. The balls of choc look like enormous wearable pralines but the gold might make you think more of jewelry. I'm sure once the chocolate starts to melt on your skin and you can really smell it, the only thing you'll be thinking is: get in my tummy!

The chocolate jewels are meant to be enjoyed by couples together, so let's hope both partners are able to hold the urge to start eating, untill they can do this together!

Chest of drawers in A room for shadows

Last Thursday I saw the installation 'Chest of drawers' at the opening of the exhibition: 'A room for shadows'. The Finnish Anna Rikkinen has built this beautiful serene installation, a 3 drawer cardboard cupboard, that holds a neckpiece. A grey ribbon is used to function as a necklace, and is combined with a pendant made from white-gray silver and light gray cardboard. The different shades of grey are echoed inside the bottom drawer, where the shape of the pendant is seen as if it has been lying in the drawer for a long period of time and dust has formed an outline. It is a clever reference to the baroque shape, inspired by jewelry and ornaments from the past.

That historical background is what makes Anna Rikkinen come to a new purified, contemporary and minimalistic piece with only the outlines giving away the luxury that they are based on. The layer of dust also means that the jewel of the installation has not been worn for a very long time. Even though it is perfectly wearable, demonstrated by the fact that it is sold separately, it is not Anna's main concern. Here, the human body has been replaced by a 'Chest of drawers' and the neckpiece has left its' mark. Would it leave a mark if it had not been replaced?

The exhibition 'A room for shadows' can be seen at gallery Caroline Van Hoek in Brussels, Belgium, untill the 28th of February.

Photo's taken by Jaan Seitsara.