The Aluminium Gyro Bangle by David Watkins. A Future Classic in Contemporary Jewellery

It takes time to become a classic. David Watkins’ aluminium Gyro bangle appeared fifty years ago and was one of the few multiples created by this artist, although he often worked to themes and variations of single forms. This playful and elegant kinetic sculpture for the wrist, as jewellery historian Beatriz Chadour Sampson and author of the monograph on Watkins describes it, was launched in 1976 as part of an exhibition of artist multiples at the Arnolfini Gallery in Bristol. It thus appears in the first decade of Watkins’ ground-breaking work in the field of jewellery, following his original studies as a sculptor in tandem with an active career as a jazz musician. Sculptural and musical concerns… the investigation of form and improvisation on a theme.. are both embedded in this classic work.

The structure of three graduated circular forms is joined together by three stainless steel bearings, and the circles nest flat inside one another when off the body: when pushed onto the wrist, these open/pivot into dynamic three-dimensional, sculptural form. Watkins had originally explored this concept two years earlier in a series of works that combined lathe-turned acrylic rod with gold spacers in different variations, such as the one illustrated here in the collection of the Crafts Council, London; others in the series combined aluminium with acrylic.


David Watkins: Gyro Bracelet, 1974. White Acrylic with Gold Bands. Collection: Crafts Council.
Photo credit: Todd-White Art Photography.


The aluminium-only multiple Gyro thus evolved from an extended period of studio experiment seen in this earlier series and is, in many ways, the most full realisation of the original concept. It was intended, originally, as an edition of 250, retailing for around £ 35 GBP (at the time). Watkins commissioned his colleague, toolmaker and engineer Jim Tierney, to turn multiple aluminium elements. He then assembled and hand-finished these himself, which included abrading the metal tube to create a softer tactile surface. In the end, probably around 30 were completed in this form, with other elements used as a base for further material experiments in his studio. The Gyro multiples were actively collected when they first appeared, with examples now to be found in a number of international Museum collections, including the V & A in London and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Paradoxically, as Watkins himself observes, the simplest of forms can be the most articulate and informative. The Gyro bangle informs us about significant aspects of his approach to the art of jewellery:
- his demonstrable will to create form, which is only fully realised in dialogue with the body;
- his longstanding interest in the aesthetic potential of industrial materials and precision engineering;
- his recognition that every material has unique qualities which, when fully explored, contribute to the poetics of expression.

Aluminium’s light weight and relatively, by the 1970s, wide availability and inexpensive material costs, created the foundation for the idea of a multiple: many jewellers explored the material in different forms in subsequent decades. However, what elevates Watkins’ Gyro bangle to classic status is that the materials, and methods of industrial production are articulated, for the first time, into a distilled form of sculpture unique and specific to body adornment.

Fifty years ago, German designer, Dieter Rams, wrote his thoughts on the nature of good design. It is, he said:
Innovative; makes a product useful; aesthetic; makes a product understandable; unobtrusive; honest; long-lasting; thorough down to the last detail; as little design as possible.

David Watkins’ multiple Gyro bangle thus sits, uniquely perhaps in artist’s jewellery, across many fields of visual language: sculpture, product design, modern jewel, precise craft, material innovation. It embodies clarity of concept and precision of execution to create striking, and sensual, body adornment. It is a particular pleasure, therefore, to learn recently that the Watkins family intend to release a special 50th anniversary edition of 20 Gyros in 2026 to honour David’s work and legacy. More details will be available later this autumn.


Original Flyer for David Watkins 1976 Aluminium Gyro Bangle.



Why Future Classics?
What Makes a Contemporary Jewellery Piece Become a Classic? Our aim is not to define academic criteria or impose any form of conservatism, but to collect subjective perspectives that help us understand the values and expectations shaping our field, without reducing them to fixed rules or hierarchies. By sharing these voices, we invite you to think together and open a conversation about durability, relevance, and the ways particular works contain certain patterns or enigmas that make them continue to speak over time.


 

About the author

Amanda Game has enjoyed a forty five-year career as a curator and producer in the field of contemporary craft with a specialist interest in modern jewellery and silversmithing. As Director at the Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh (1986-2008), Amanda founded and developed an active programme for modern craft within a long-established fine art dealership. Since 2008, Amanda has run an independent studio advising and supporting leading makers and patrons in the field, through exhibitions, commissions and private sales.

Currently based in Oxford, she is a Liveryman of the Goldsmiths Company and a Trustee of the National Life Stories Charity at the British Library. She is currently working as an Advisor to the Estate of Wendy Ramshaw.

Publications include: Jewellery Moves: Ornament for the 21^st Century, National Museums Scotland, 1998; Contemporary British Crafts: The Goodison Gift to the Fitzwilliam Museum Philip Wilson 2016.

Contact: amanda@twostreets.co.uk