Unveiling Beginnings: The Stories Behind the 2024 Romanian Jewelry Collection

My first jewelry piece created for Romanian Jewelry Week 2024 collection is...


Alain Roggeman / Belgium

'Squares and rectangles' is a silver ring enhanced with a piece of white Baltic Amber. Being a fan of straight lines and shapes, decision has been made for this fifth edition of the Romanian Jewelry Week to revisit the 'Black Collection' I previously created. There is still some black material in the new designs, but not only. The diversity of color of amber and reclaimed wood brought me a lot of joy, despite the severity of the chosen forms, during the development process. On the other hand, I have completed another collection (Construction Toys) with a kind of “kitschy” touch that will be showcased during the event.

Alain Roggeman. Ring: Squares and rectangles, 2024. Baltic amber, 925 silver.



Andreia Gabriela Popescu / Romania

The first piece in the collection 'Spectrum - Vowels' created for Romanian Jewelry Week 2024 draws inspiration from the concept of synesthesia, specifically the connection between sound and color. This piece began with the idea of exploring how vowels, as distinct sounds, could be visually represented through color. Each vowel, with its unique tone, length, and musical quality, was translated into a physical form, resulting in a piece that invites the viewer to imagine what spoken words might look like if they were colors.

To bring this vision to life, I chose to work with resin, shaping it into thin, delicate layers to capture the lightness and transparency of sound. The textures vary—some are smoother, while others are more pronounced—reflecting the subtle differences in how vowels are articulated in various languages. Each texture corresponds to the feel of a sound in our ears, creating a tactile experience that mirrors the auditory one.

Andreia Gabriela Popescu. Ring: Spectrum - Colors & Vowels 01, 2024. 14k red gold, white diamonds, and crystal Epoxy resin with fluorescent pigments. Photo by Ștefan Vartolomei.



Anita Polici / Romania

"Human Nature" is my first piece for the Romanian Jewelry Week 2024 collection, inspired by Roman and Byzantine artifacts. It depicts part of a human foot stepping on a column, symbolizing the immense power mankind has wielded through the centuries, driven by one inherent trait: the desire to conquer. The creative process began with a mental image sparked by a stone-carved table resembling a foot and my extensive collection of ancient sculpture photos. I first crafted the metal part from a brass sheet, using punching techniques to shape the volume and details, followed by patination and annealing to achieve an antique look. The second phase involved clay modeling, which proved challenging. After several attempts to perfect the proportions and ensure the metal foot rested naturally on the column, the column’s base became wider as a result.


Anita Polici. Brooch: Lost Civilisation, 2024. Brass, ceramics, sterling silver, patina.



Aysa Posthuma / The Netherlands

When and where does an idea or concept for a piece emerge? In my experience, inspiration is a boundless network of associations that we build throughout our lives. I see my creative process as an organic, ever-evolving entity. The central theme in my designs is the expression of these associations, which, sometimes unexpectedly, demand attention and take form. The “Tagua Opuntia” ring is primarily composed of a tagua nut, the seed of Phytelephas macrocarpa, a palm tree also known as the "elephant plant." The seed's dried and hardened white endosperm closely resembles ivory and is, therefore, called vegetable ivory. I was intrigued by the unique qualities of this material, as well as its various sizes and shapes. This particular specimen instantly reminded me of a prickly pear cactus with its flat, paddle-shaped stems. Cacti can survive in extremely arid environments, having adapted to conserve water. These succulents store water in their stems, while their spines play a crucial role—not only protecting them from predators but also preventing water loss by regulating airflow around the plant. The spines in this ring are crafted from solid 14k gold, highlighting their importance for survival. Despite the harsh conditions, the cactus blooms and thrives, symbolizing resilience.


Aysa Posthuma. Ring: Tagua Opuntia, 2021. Tagua nut, 14kt gold, oxidized copper, synthetic ruby, sterling silver.



Cara / Romania

My first jewelry piece created for Romanian Jewelry Week 2024 collection is a brooch crafted from silver and concrete, mirroring to symbolize the fusion of strength and elegance, tradition and modernity. The striking contrast creates a visually intriguing and thought-provoking piece of wearable art. The perfect balance between these two different materials is magnetic both figuratively and literally. The whole piece is fixed to clothing by magnets and the two elements as well. This piece tells the story of two somehow opposites harmonized in a contemporary jewelry.
CARA. Magnetic Brooch, 2024. From Duality Collection. 925 sterling silver, 24k yellow gold plated, jewelry concrete, magnets.



Cleopatra Coșuleț / Romania

My first jewelry piece created for Romanian Jewelry Week 2024 collection is the bunch of clenched fists, symbolizing a status quo that sometimes, someone want to overcome. It is the symbol of the comfort zone that some of us leave due to the desire to evolve. It’s the symbol of the awareness of the fact that we are the artisans of our journey and the choices we make day by day help us or not to get out of the box, to touch or not ideas and ideals, to spread or not our wings and fly towards unknown but wishful horizons. And yes, I fly too. I spread my fingers and fly. And each piece, born immaterially first, then shaped into real by my fingers is a sequence of my becoming. The collection is an ode to human uniqueness and its courage to overcome imposed or self-imposed boundaries, to be seen through the written lines or finger shaped flying wings.

Cleopatra Cosulet. Brooch: See Through, 2024. Resin, pigments, steel wire, hancrafted pin stoppers made of resin and rubbe. Photo by Ana Georgescu.



Contemporia / Romania

My first jewelry piece created for Romanian Jewelry Week 2024 collection is...
for the first time ever, not relevant, it could have been any of them. Because with the Flux collection each element is a module, not a specific piece of jewelry, and together they create a collage that adorns the wearer's body. In this way, a part of the artistic energy is transferred to the wearer, who becomes both the artist and the artist's canvas simultaneously. Nevertheless, the moment that brought me the closest feeling of excitement associated with the creation of the first piece of jewelry for a new collection, was when we assembled the first ”collage” out of Flux modules on someone's body. This happened during the photo shoot dedicated to the collection.


Contemporia. Brooch: Fux collage, 2024. Sterling silver, brass. 



Madeleine X Eshte / Romania

My first jewelry piece created for the Romanian Jewelry Week 2024 collection is the OM ring from the Scratching Love Collection, a special project done with Ioana Voloacă, Founder and Creative Director of ESHTE. The creative process started as a quest for simplicity, synthesized ultimately in the word "OM," the mystic syllable and the most sacred mantra in Hinduism, but also meaning "human" in Romanian. While the concept comes from the appreciation for Romanian cultural heritage and the essence of humanity, it holds, the design was born from a desire to merge tradition with contemporary expressions and sentiments.
"OM" stands out as a reminder of shared human experience.


Madeleine X Eshte. Ring: Scratching Love OM, 2024.



Fabiana Fusco / Italy

Usually, I’m inspired by things or events that happened around me. This year, I decided to put the attention, the light, on something that involves a lot of people but that normally it’s a sort of taboo. Mental health is something about people doesn’t want to speak so much even if, for sure, there is a person near them that has had or has problems, especially after COVID-19. Our kids, even more often than before, need help to figure out how to live their social life in the right way.  It’s weird how people are afraid to manifest with others that, at a certain point, they have been forced to ask for help. The first thing that I tried to understand was how to represent feelings and thoughts and how it is hard to manage them.  Iron dust and magnets came to help me to give voice to my thoughts. How the magnets can manipulate the iron dust suggested to me the sort of thoughts cradle that can be in our heads and also gave an image of how a person can manipulate a weak or suffering mind.  Technically, I added silver and borosilicate glass spheres to keep the dust, but also some little wheels that I 3d printed to create the image of the gear of a mind....a woman's mind specifically! I imagined little women figures that run on wheels like hamsters, thinking about the daily schedule that asked, now more than before, a sort of multitasking hero that has to manage family, work, home...In the end, by the way, every one of us, or I hope that it happens, find a light at the end of the tunnel like the one that you can turn on in the head of my glass mannequin!


Fabiana Fusco. Ring: Brutti pensieri, 2024. Borosilicate blow bubble, magnets, iron powder, 925 silver, epoxy resin.



Gena Tudor / Romania

The first jewelry piece I created for ROJW5 is called Forbidden Fruit, part of the Primordial Sin Collection, and the source of inspiration was the feminine symbols, so what to start, if not with the story of the forbidden fruits from Heaven’s Gardens?  As we know, the forbidden fruit has become a metaphor for anything tempting but potentially prohibited, and at the same time, if you go deep down to its roots, it can speak about the tension between obedience and rebellion, innocence, and experience. Its biblical roots provide a framework for understanding human fallibility and the profound consequences of moral decisions.  The creative process has been an endless story of experiments. In the beginning, I started playing with apples coated in red sugar, but during the process of taking out the apple from the sugar coating, the latter broke or even melted, and resin conservation was not possible.


Gena Tudor. Crown: Forbidden Fruit, 2024. From Primordial Sin Series. 



Kleo Glens / Italy

My first jewelry piece created for the Romanian Jewelry Week 2024 collection is a MEMORY bracelet. MEMORY's background is sci-fi poetics; I am passionate about the writings of Asimov, Philip K. Dick, Alan Moore, and science fiction filmography. MEMORY is a bracelet from the PSYKO RAM collection, the series includes the ACCESS necklace and the RANDOM ring. In this collection, the technological components of digital devices become the emblems that define in detail the entire today's society, becoming its icons. In particular, I develop the concept of memory, in this case, the one contained in circuits, hence the title and the abstractions that arise from it, such as reminiscence, stratification, and oblivion, to name a few.
A second goal is to build a union between the past and the future.

Kleo Glens. Ring: Random, 2021. Psyko Ram Series. Aluminum, transparent methacrylate, silver 925 rivets, manual printing​



Loredana Ichim / Romania

My first jewelry piece created for Romanian Jewelry Week 2024 collection is the Maji Ring, and it was born out of a personal journey of letting go. I had reached a point where I felt stuck because I was trying to force something I believed was meant for me, but in reality, my heart was asking for something entirely different. That’s when I made the decision to trust the universe, ease up, and enjoy the present moment and everything I already had. Flow is about the courage to follow the shape of your heart and stop trying to mold it. The Maji Ring embodies that shift—the balance between surrender and the strength found in letting life naturally unfold according to your true desires.

Loredana Ichim. Maji Ring, 2024. Sterling Silver.



Madeleine Jewelry / Romania

My first jewelry piece for the Romanian Jewelry Week 2024 collection is a reflection of nature's raw and organic forms. Inspired by the interplay of textures found in the natural world, this ring’s design process revolved around sculpting fluid shapes and embracing the bold gemstones into them. As the forms evolved and my hands added layer upon layer of detail, the piece soon transformed into a chest of dreams. The idea of having a stone that safeguards your dreams and desires seemed to emerge naturally from the labradorite itself, as though it had been created for this very purpose. It’s as if this ring was born from a fairytale, waiting to be worn by those who dare to dream.

Madalina Radulea. Ring: Cosmos, from Supernova Series, 2024. Silver 925, labradorite, ruby.



Madalina Spiridon / Romania

My first jewelry piece created for Romanian Jewelry Week 2024 collection is the Leaves of Intimacy necklace. This year is a further exploration of the 2022 collection. In the first one, I focused more on the muse Venus, born from the foam of the sea. This year, I continue with uncovering the beauty of the human body, but this time, it goes further to the exploration of the soul's beauty. Love is the core of my creations as much as emotions and vulnerability. As a romantic, I went exploring my theme also having in mind the words of the Romanian author Nechita Stănescu: "Tell me, if I'd catch you someday and kiss the bottom of your foot, isn't that afterward you would limp a bit for fear of crushing my kiss ?". The human body as an amphora of divinity is a result of the beauty of the human soul, with its sacrifices, vulnerability, and the power to remain kind despite the challenges of everyday life. The beauty shown outside is a reflection of the beauty inside. We worship beauty because we aspire for good. My collection is meant to challenge the journey for a better self. The ultimate challenge is to stay pure despite the ego.

Madalina Spiridon. Necklace: Leaves of Intimacy Collection, 2024. 925 sterling silver, 999 fine silver, 14 K gold, enamel. Photo by Andra Roman.



Octavia Chiru / Romania

My first jewelry piece created for the Romanian Jewelry Week 2024 collection is the 'Human, listen!' ring. The concept behind it speaks to a sustainable and conscious way of living in harmony with nature. I handcrafted this ceramic piece to be one of a kind, reflecting both individuality and the importance of thoughtful, mindful creation. This piece is also about a fun and creative way to inspire a movement toward sustainability. And can you see the little figure, standing all ears, surrounded by thoughts and ideas? It's a symbol of listening closely to the world around us.

Octavia Chiru. Ring: Human, listen!, 2024. Ceramic + 24k Gold



Olga Tea Trek / Romania

When you lose someone dear, questions about what comes next become painfully urgent. Saying goodbye to a loved one confronts us not only with personal but also philosophical dilemmas: does anything remain after we are gone? Where is the memory of us kept? Do our ideas disappear with our bodies, or do they continue to live on? These reflections led me to create the "J.Doe" collection. This work became not just a creative project, but a means of overcoming loss, a process of inner recovery. I began to think about how a person’s life is reflected not only in their own actions but also in how their ideas persist in the memories of others. These thoughts became the foundation for my collection's concept. I wanted to create jewellery that symbolises not only loss but also the continuity and evolution of ideas. Once planted in fertile soil, a seed of thought grows, takes on new forms, and becomes part of someone else’s fate. In my work, I sought to honour not a specific person but all those unnamed individuals whose names are erased by history, even though their influence lives on. My collection "J.Doe" is a reflection on how life and ideas can continue to exist, even when names and faces are forgotten.

Olga Tea Trek. Ring and Brooch: J. Doe, 2021. 925 silver, hair from an unknown person. Photo by Jelena Ivanova​.



Roberta Pavone / Italy

Papille deliziate (Delighted taste buds), a ring made of silver, oxide and lots of love. This idea, born long ago but never really pursued, has come back to my mind with an urge to expand my collection.  Papille deliziate (Delighted taste buds) speaks of the tongue, which is essential for tasting, kissing and speaking, thereby creating a vortex of emotions that also reflects life, nurturing beauty, goodness and love. Silver threads frantically mold themselves between my fingers, choosing their own shape. Harmonic balance is key.

Roberta Pavone. Ring: Papille Deliziate, 2024. Silver. Photo by Claudio Di Pompeo​.



Sigita Paliukaite / Ireland

The first jewelry piece in my collection for Romanian Jewelry Week 2024, “I Wear My Shadow with Love”, is a ceramic shoulder piece and brooch connected by a glass chain. The design drew inspiration from the tactile experience of making ceramic bowls, mimicking the rounded forms in soft, fresh clay on the human body. The glass chain introduced a juxtaposition, as a chain made of glass. Over time it evolved into triangular links, creating an illusion of ruffles. Instead of lying flat on the body, the chain stands away, adding a structural contrast to the smooth ceramic elements. Conceptually, this piece—and the entire collection—embodies the journey of inner integration. It is my way of telling a story of my own quest and struggles. This is the message I maintain throughout my multimedia art practice: self-knowledge is a starting point for any substantial change.
 
Sigita Paliukaite. Shoulder piece and brooch: I Wear My Shadow With Love, 2023. Ceramics, glass, secured with bar pin, magnets.



Tomas Miskovic / Slovakia

I continued working on the Shelter/Heritage Collection, adding stones and exploring new designs that express the idea of instinctively protecting that which is inside us.
In Shelter/Heritage edition, I examined aspects of my identity, especially my connection to my roots – to my family, our traditions, and the village I grew up in – what I would consider my truest self. To visually create the connection to tradition, I used the bird, a common folk symbol. Cut out of metal instead of embroidered on textile and encased in a geometric shape, I aimed to bring these symbols into my craft and into the present.

Tomas Miskovic. Ring: Shelter Heritage A, 2024. Sterling silver, amber. 



Romanian Jewelry Week is the largest event in Romania dedicated to contemporary jewelry, bringing together local and international creators to promote innovation, design, and exceptional craftsmanship. The 2024 edition promises an immersive experience where art and technology merge into unique pieces.

About the author

Alexandra Bujenita is the PR manager of Romanian Jewelry Week team, Art developer of Creative team of Imbold Cultural Foundation, PR account at Hello Menthol.