Lumina by Empar Juanes. A Future Classic in Contemporary Jewellery

Deutsche Version - German version      

When and how does a piece become a classic?

Approaching this question seriously has raised many further questions for me. As someone trained in cultural studies, one immediately thinks of the notion of the “classic” with all the qualities that have been defined and transmitted over centuries. For contemporary jewellery, however, this framework felt somewhat inadequate.
Over more than 35 years working in the fields of craft and applied arts, I have encountered many individuals who could, without hesitation, be described as classics. Yet I do not wish to focus on these “big names”, as this is not how I understood Klimt02’s invitation. Instead, I have chosen to approach the question from a different perspective.

What I see first is an inner attitude, a way of perceiving, an imaginative capacity, and the energy to bring something into being. The ability to face challenges, to resolve problems, and the determination to create all seem essential. It was in this light that the jewellery of Empar Juanes and the series LUMINA came to mind, whose work I have followed for several years since meeting her, more or less by chance, in Valencia.

At first glance, her pieces appear as small objects carved from stone, three-dimensional yet entirely wearable as jewellery. On closer inspection, their full complexity gradually reveals itself. The process begins with the selection of the material, whether agate or rock crystal, already marking the start of a long journey whose outcome is not always predictable. This is a path that demands deep understanding and commitment from the very beginning.
The preparation of the stone, cutting, shaping, polishing, drilling, and combining it with metal, is in itself a considerable challenge. What is most distinctive in Empar Juanes’ work, and what I find particularly striking, is the way form is developed. Craftsmanship and technical mastery provide the foundation, but the result is an independent solution, free from any reference to trends.

Her jewellery consists of carefully considered constructions in which transparency, the interplay of light and shadow, rhythm, and three-dimensionality acquire a particular intensity. Their complexity points to a depth of knowledge built through years of training, curiosity, and experimentation.
Whether her work will become part of the classics of the future remains to be seen. To me, however, it is clearly on that path.
In preparing this text, Empar’s own writings were essential, as they resonate closely with my own perception of her work. For this reason, I would like to incorporate some of her words into this article.


Empar Juanes Statement:

As an architect and artist, my work is an exploration of space and geometry blurring the linebetween jewelry and sculpture.
Stone holds a special significance for me—it is raw, strong, and solid, yet fragile. This paradox, for me, mirrors the human condition, inspiring my exploration of themes like tension, risk, personal space, sensuality, and the delicate balance between strength and vulnerability. I investigate the intimacy and complexities of life—courage, vulnerability, resilience, and transformation—expressing myself through material and form.

But beyond its materiality, I am captivated by the process of working with stone—pushing ist limits, testing its resistance, and embracing the risks involved in transforming it into ethereal, almost immaterial jewelry pieces. It is while carving stone where I get closer to myself. It is in crafts, where I can find the relief I need. In my workplace, I feel isolated. There, I can build my own reality and everything can be more sensitive.
By transforming a material as hard as stone, I invite the public to reflect on our own processes of change and transformation. I usually use very hard stones, like agate or rock crystal, which allows me to work to the thinnest without breaking it.
My creative process is driven by challenges: How far can I push the boundaries of stone? Or show vulnerability through a hard stone? How thin I can go before it splits? Could a stone even be flexible? Can I materialize the concept of tension? How can I transmit emotions through abstraction?...I explore intimacy and the complexities of life—courage, vulnerability, resilience, and transformation—expressing them through material and form.


LUMINA marks the beginning of a new chapter in my practice — an exploration of rock crystal as both material and concept. Fascinated by its ability to capture, refract, and internalize light, I have pushed my craftsmanship to its highest level of precision to reveal the stone’s inherent luminosity.
Rock crystal is extremely demanding to work with. It does not tolerate temperature changes and can crack even without direct contact due to its internal tension. I spent a long time searching for a crystal of the highest quality — completely free of cracks and large enough to allow my three-dimensional work. Finding the right material was already part of the challenge.

This has been the most complex stone project I’ve undertaken so far. Cutting the raw crystal was extremely risky, followed by countless hours of carving and refining the form into precise geometry, time-consuming high-end polishing, and finally drilling to attach the steel structure.
Drilling at the end is particularly decisive: the stone must be fixed with sealing wax while avoiding heat or temperature changes, internal flaws can cause cracking, and the fragile 0.9 mm hollow diamond drill can snap inside the stone—all after the many hours of prior work, knowing that any mistake could mean losing the stone entirely.
Each piece requires heightened sensitivity — working with transparency, subtle reflection, and the delicate tension between fragility and strength. Conceived as vessels for light, the works shift and transform in dialogue with their surroundings, ultimately illuminating the wearer“.


Empar Juanes Biography: 
b. 1990: A graduate in Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and in Art and Design from the Maastricht Institute of Arts, Empar Juanes has developed her professional career on two very different scales: in architecture and on a more intimate and personal one dedicated to contemporary jewelry. Drawing from both degrees, Juanes is a jewellery artist who transforms raw, heavy gemstones, into ethereal sculptural pieces. Constantly testing the limits of stone as a material.
Beyond her work with stone, Empar Juanes focuses on expressing her inner world between the material and the immaterial. With this multidisciplinary approach, the media she uses range from artistic jewelry to sculpture, analog photography, and music.
Last year, she was selected as one of the 30 finalists for the Loewe Crafts Prize, a world-renowned award, she was awarded the world's most prestigious prize for artistic jewelry, the Herbert Hofmann Prize, which has been held in Munich since 1959. She was also a finalist for the BKV Prize in Munich (2021) and the Henriette Hustinx Prize in Maastricht (2019). Her pieces have been exhibited in international shows in Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain.


Empar Juanes Sanchis. Brooch: Lumina M-1.5, 2026. Rock crystal, stainless steel. Photo by: Juanjo Laudes. From series: Lumina.​



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

Wolfgang Lösche (b.1957) is a German curator and exhibition specialist with longstanding experience in the field of contemporary craft and design.
He studied Folklore, Art History, and Prehistoric Archaeology at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich before joining the Munich and Upper Bavaria Chamber of Crafts in 1987. From 2003 to 2023, he headed the Department for Trade Fairs and Exhibitions, as well as Galerie Handwerk and the Academy for Design in Crafts.
During this time, he directed major international special exhibitions including Exempla, Schmuck, Talente, and Masters of Modernity as part of the International Trade Fair Munich.
Today, he lives and works as an independent curator and juror in Dießen am Ammersee.