Maja Houtman is awarded the second prize in the Silver category of the Saul Bell Design Award

Maja Houtman from Utrecht won the second prize in the Silver category of the Saul Bell Design Award with a special bracelet. In this prestigious design competition, master gold and silversmiths in various disciplines compete with each other at the international level. The bracelet with which Maja Houtman won a prize in Albuquerque consists of more than 300 silver ribs with a diameter of 0.5 mm, which are held together by one 0.2 mm thick wire. Not only does this thread hold the ribs together, but thousands of pieces of chain hanging from it. The end result is a bracelet that is very mobile and almost feels like fur. The design, the dynamics and the technical ingenuity with which the bracelet came about gave the jury the distinction of distinguishing the Dutch goldsmith.

Maja Houtman (1963) is a Dutch jewelry designer and trained as a goldsmith and silversmith at the Vocational School Schoonhoven. In the jewelry world, Maja is best known for her contemporary filigree, which she calls twisted wirework in English. Characteristic of this work is the winding technique used, in which it wraps fine silver wire into complete jewelry and objects.