About Growing Stones. An interview with David Sandu, director of Romanian Jewelry Week

What inspired the launch of the Growing Gems section and what role will it play in the 2026 edition?
Like all the decisions we make and most of the ideas we have, the proposal to create a section dedicated to jewelry design involving careful and special stone cutting was both subjective and rational. Subjective, because my interest—and that of the Assamblage School of Contemporary Jewelry—in stone cutting is very strong, but also based on the observation that in recent years many brilliant artists, designers, and craftsmen have emerged who express themselves in a highly personal way through this extremely hard and demanding material: stone. Bringing these ideas together, I am convinced that Growing Gems will become a space where these remarkable creative people—who work with something so challenging and difficult—can gather, and that our curatorial approach will be useful and relevant to them.


How do you redefine the role of stone in contemporary jewelry: material or concept?
I generally avoid definitions. I prefer to observe and appreciate the surrounding dynamism. Precious stone in contemporary jewelry has, over time, seen a decrease in its self-contained importance and, paradoxically, a return to meaning and cultural content, as it had in prehistoric or ancient times. The historical period from the late Renaissance to the early 20th century was certainly when the gemstone market became financially structured, leading to a system with very precise economic and mathematical criteria.

And so today we still see the idea of intrinsic value of stones as a guarantee and certainty that money and associated costs give objective importance and relevance to these tiny objects, such as diamonds.
Artists and designers observe that these conventions become irrelevant when you do not follow the rules of the game. And since artists are meant to question social rules and seek meaning, jewelry makers and stone cutters who view minerals as carriers of meaning have begun to explore stone cutting through aesthetic, cultural, and conceptual criteria.
This has led, as in contemporary jewelry, to a rediscovery of meaning and ideas that make stones and metals interesting again. Diamonds become fascinating not because they are traded on stock markets, but because they can create flashes of light even in darkness. It is a return to origins, to meaning and to idea.


Chelsea Xiaoyu Li. Ring: Untitled, 2023. Jade, silver, gemstone.


What do you primarily look for in a submitted project: technical innovation or conceptual strength?
I hope that over time we will be able to highlight both of these aspects, which have enormous potential, as you mentioned. The technical side of stone cutting is a vast universe in which aesthetic sensibility and the human body as a precision instrument come into symbiosis with technology and industry-specific tools.
The results of this symbiosis are found in artifacts with immense symbolic and conceptual value, brought to light by contemporary artists.


How do you see the evolution of interest in stone cutting among the new generation of designers?
A U.S. survey of hobbies shows that in 2023, within the Crafts category, stone cutting ranked 6th. This indicates a surprisingly large and growing interest in the field. Perhaps because the meditative and introspective nature of the process is significant, even therapeutic for some.
The relationship with such a hard material makes shaping stone a challenge of transforming something that initially seems intangible. It is a growing field, without a doubt. I want Romanian Jewelry Week to act, from the very beginning of this movement, as a catalyst for this creative community.


How important is it for an artist to cut their own stones versus collaborating with specialists?
This is a very personal choice. From my own experience, the creative decision-making space expanded significantly when I began working with stones I had cut myself.
A small rough stone, which becomes even smaller as it is cut, takes on a completely different meaning in the context of one’s own jewelry compared to stones cut according to classical standards and obtained ready-made from commercial suppliers.
If I were an architect, it would be as if I not only decided where and how to build, but also on which planet to build. That is how different and transformative learning stone cutting feels to a jeweler.

Misato Takahashi. Ring: Reverence #2, 2022. Baltic amber, Japanese urushi lacquer, clay, mother of pearl, gold leaves. 


What types of experimentation in stone cutting do you consider most relevant today?
I will mention two designers who completely impressed me. The first is the Munsteiner family from Idar-Oberstein, the German city of stone cutters in Europe. Their contribution to contemporary stone cutting is extraordinary. They have radically changed the canonical approach to gemstones, producing results and concepts beyond imagination.
The second is Julia Maria Künnap, who achieves an incredible technical synthesis between faceting, carving, and cabochon cutting. What is remarkable is the poetic way in which this highly advanced technique reflects ideas of ephemerality and transformation in the world. Both examples are based on mastery of classical techniques, yet bring immense cultural depth through their results.


Do you see a clear difference between self-taught artists and academically trained ones in their approach to stone?
There is always a difference. In self-taught practitioners, I have noticed an interesting phenomenon in how they process acquired knowledge. There is often a lack of synchronization between form and content, between technique and idea, between tools, materials, and meaning. The self-taught artist is, in a sense, always one step behind their own process due to the structural lack of a formal framework.
At the same time, this very struggle often motivates them to continue. It is a paradox.


Liu Yang. Brooch: Untitled, 2023. Silver and labradorite.


How is Romania positioned internationally in contemporary jewelry and stone work?
I believe we are at the very beginning of the beginning, and that gives us an extra opportunity. We can observe what the most natural and useful next steps might be. And certainly, the Growing Gems section will be an ingredient that generates a significant creative response in the future.


In what direction do you think the relationship between artist and stone will evolve in the coming years?
The artist’s first relationship began with stone. The oldest known artifacts are beads made of bone and stone. This is how it all started. Jewelry has always been essential to Homo sapiens. Today, our relationship with jewelry carries an incredible depth and significance. Jewelry is, in my view, an imperative and a necessity rather than a luxury. The new perspective on jewelry through artist-cut stones expands creative freedom and artistic thinking. We already see—and will see at Growing Gems at Romanian Jewelry Week—how unexpected the results of this new world of stone cutting can be.

David Sandu. Ring: Agora, 2025. Sterling silver, smoky quartz.


At the 2026 edition, Romanian Jewelry Week launches Growing Gems, a section dedicated to artists who transform stone cutting into a creative and conceptual practice in its own right.
More details: https://www.romanianjewelryweek.com/
 

About the Interviewee

David Sandu is the first Romanian artist to make contemporary jewelry his main field of expression. Born in 1974 in Bucharest, he began his jewelry journey as an apprentice in Vlad Gherghiceanu’s workshop and later studied at the Bucharest National University of Art. In 2005, he opened his gallery, and in 2010 he became Supplier to the Royal House of Romania and founded Assamblage Contemporary Jewelry School, the country’s first private jewelry education platform. He also co-founded the Assamblage National Jewelry Association in 2015 and is a founding member and curator of Romanian Jewelry Week, Romania’s largest contemporary jewelry event.

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.