Mona Lisa 1995

La Tendenza (earing and nose ring set)
18k gold and pearls
35 mm x 20 mm x 10 mm

Cube 1996

Queso Oscuro – (pendant)
Black jade, gold chain
50 mm x 50 mm x 50 mm

Wheel 1997

Wheeeee! (kinetic ring)
Platinum, diamonds and pearls
45 mm x 25 mm x 20 mm
“Take a ride on this platinum amusement ring and watch the pearls fly.”

Puzzle 1999

Child’s Play (bracelet)
Sterling silver and steel spring
120 mm x 120 mm x 20 mm
“Based on a toy, this bracelet transforms into a neat stack or a zig zag.”

Puzzle (2)

Puzzle (3)

Water 2000

Ancient Water (ring)
Platinum and enhydro quartz
40 mm x 30 mm x 10 mm
“This gem contains a three-phase inclusion; water, air, and solid grains of sand, all trapped inside 200,000,000 years ago.”

Flight 2001

Up, Up and Away (kinetic ring)
18k yellow gold, 14k rose gold, platinum, diamonds, and ball bearing
35 mm x 25 mm x 25 mm
“Instructions:
1. Place ring on finger.
2. Point in desired direction.
3. Blow on propeller.
4. Hold on tight.”

Peekaboo 2002

Through the Key Hole (magnifying ring)
18k gold, Dyber-Optic® rutilated quartz lens, diamonds
45 mm x 25 mm x 10 mm
“Peeking through the convex portion of the lens, the image is enlarged, while focusing through the concave center section reduces the image.”

Fold 2003

Fold, Unfold (ring)
18k yellow gold, 14k rose gold, platinum, diamonds

60 mm x 25 mm x 35 mm
“Like a soft flower blowing in the wind, this ring of corrugated gold simulates nature’s effect onto metal.”

Sphere 2004

Double Eclipse (ring)
Pure gold, pure silver
80 mm x 30 mm x 15 mm
“A rough black monolith ascends from the earth and becomes a brilliant mirror. In it the sun eclipses the moon, and the moon eclipses the sun.”
Utilizing silver for its blackness and unmatched reflectivity, I forged this ring from an ingot of pure silver and added hemispheres of compressed gold and silver wire. The gold and silver hemispheres offer the illusion of appearing whole when reflected in the rotating mirrors.

Pyramid 2005

Reliquary for Machu Picchu (ring)
22k gold, baguette diamonds, stone from Machu Picchu
60 mm x 35 mm x 20 mm
“On my recent trip to Peru, I visited Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas. I was astounded by the grandeur of Inca engineering and architecture, and I was amazed at the precision of their stone masonry. In this homage to craftsmen who lived 500 years ago, I have tried to convey the admiration and surprise, which moved me.”

Secret Treasure 2006

Implosion (ring)
18k gold and diamonds
30 mm x 30 mm x 15 mm
“Beauty is often hidden from view.”

Spiral 2007

A New Twist (ring)
18k gold and pearls
50 mm x 40 mm x 40 mm
“Based on the oldest ring known from antiquity, this finger ornament is a new twist on an old theme.”

Tension 2008

Snug (adjustable ring)
18k gold, sterling silver, ruby, pearls
50 mm x 30 mm x 20 mm
"This adjustable ring is a reference to the Chinese fable of the arrow piercing an egg. My ring is about fragility, tension, and impermanence, in a very permanent form."

Explosion 2009

Ka Boooom (ring)
18k gold, rubies
140 mm x 110 mm x 35 mm
“An explosion of rubies.”

Tear 2010

My Hammer Gently Weeps (object - ring)
24k gold, wood hammer, steel head and base
130 mm x 30 mm x 10 mm
“When the price of gold rose to $1200 per ounce, I decided to retire my first goldsmith’s hammer and make it into something wearable. So I cut it in half, mounted a small antique hammer head and made it into a ring.”

Black and White 2011

Mood Ring (adjustable ring)
Palladium and polypropylene
30 mm x 45 mm x 30 mm
“Are you happy? Are you sad? Just pick your mood on this flip-reverse ring.”

Ice 2012

Frozen in Time (ring)
Sterling silver, 18k gold, enhydro quartz, rubies
60 mm x 30 mm x 30 mm
“This miniature ice pick holds an enhydro quartz crystal with a pocket of water, air and sand that was trapped 200,000 million years ago.”

Wave 2013

Breaker (ring for three fingers)
Sterling silver and pearls
150 mm x 80 mm x 10 mm
“Waves represent energy and movement.”

Rhythm 2014

Arryhthmia (brooch on stand)
18k gold, sterling silver, black jade, diamonds, Australian tire-track jasper cut by
the artist.
45 mm x 45 m x 15 mm
“This brooch is a personal statement about my heart. I made it shortly after surgery. The heart-shaped brooch is elevated on a base of black jade. Supporting it are four 18 karat gold feet that are sections of my mother’s fountain pen. Each diamond represents love in my life.”

Fire 2015

Love Strikes Anywhere (pendant on stand)
Sterling silver with 18k gold and matches
Pendant is 40 mm X 90 mm X 5 mm
"Love, and the earth becomes paradise again.” - Osho

Transformation 2016

Aymara (brooch on stand)
Pure platinum and pure gold with a ruby and diamonds on a sterling silver stand
60 mm x 60 mm x 10 mm
“Everything in your life is a vehicle for your transformation.” - Ram Dass

Stripes 2017

Old Stripes, New Stripes (necklace)
Sterling silver, 18k gold, diamond
250 mm x 200 mm x 10 mm
”What’s old is new”

Together 2018

Together Forever (earrings)
18k gold with rough diamond, Mexican fire opal, pink tourmaline, Akoya pearl, fire agate and opal triplet.
55 mm x 15 mm x 6 mm
“These six gems have been waiting patiently in separate envelops for decades. Now they will be together forever.”

AJDC

Annual

Projects

About AJDC

The American Jewelry Design Council is a non-profit educational corporation, which recognizes and promotes the appreciation of original jewelry design as art. AJDC is committed to raising the awareness of the jewelry industry, the art community, the media and the public about the aesthetic value of artistic fine jewelry.

Annual Projects

Each year the group chooses a design theme for which members create one-of-a-kind pieces. The projects are for exhibition only and will not be sold. The projects are meant to stimulate both the artist and the viewer to think beyond common limits and elevate jewelry expression to the realm of art. The results are spectacular, with members employing the finest craftsmanship in precious and non-precious materials, as a painter would work from their palette of pigments.

Alan's Comments

There is an air of excitement each year when the upcoming theme is announced. I used to dread the challenge, struggle to deliver, and fear that my results were uninspired. And then I got it. The jewelry in this collection is like none other in that the items are not for sale. So why make them? Purely for the artistic challenge. After that, I found my groove and I relished the most challenging themes. My work speaks for itself.

Some of the themes feel like a natural fit for me and the design comes easily, sometimes in an instant, like my jewelry projects for Cube, Puzzle and Explosion. And others challenge me to think further and undertake more complex pieces like Fold, Transformation, Rhythm and Secret Garden.

My creative process includes research, play, drawing, model-making, exploration, activity, reflection, stillness, revision and more revision during the design and then execution at my bench.

In the end, the magician has done his work, and a sparkling new jewel appears magically on my bench pin. It’s as if I just open to the possible and then add my flavor as it flows out my hands. These 25 pieces that I have created, not to be sold, represent my best work, my most creative work and the work I am most proud of.

I am very grateful to the American Jewelry Design Council for affording me this opportunity to stretch my creativity and dive deep into my medium each year. And each year I have had the honor to create a unique treasure from the Earth's gifts with my two hands, as a lasting record of another step on my own journey.

AJDC

Annual

Projects

About AJDC

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Annual Projects