The true challenge is not merely technical or aesthetic. It is cultural and human. Interview with Theo Smeets around the exhibition ROCKstars Live in Legnica

Julita Kamińska: Idar-Oberstein has long been renowned for its tradition of gemstone cutting. Do you notice any changes in the way this material is valued, especially in the context of contemporary jewellery and the changing trends in the jewellery market?
Theo Smeets: Over the past 30 years, the role of gemstones in art jewellery has undergone a significant transformation. To understand this shift, we need to look back a bit at the broader history of contemporary jewellery.

For the past 60 years, jewellers started to deliberately reject precious stones and metals. Their aim was to move beyond traditional luxury and/or fashion jewellery, seeking instead to create meaningful, thought-provoking works that aligned more closely with fine art than with craft or design. This shift seemed to made sense within the social context of the 1960s and ’70s, particularly in societies like the Dutch, Great-Britain’s, and German. Following WWII, Western Europe experienced a boom in consumer luxury, fuelled in part by the Marshall Plan. In reaction to this, some jewellers began challenging the status quo, questioning the role of jewellery in society and redefining it as a form of artistic expression. However, the mainly by art historians created narrative that this movement began solely with figures like Francoise van den Bosch, Gijs Bakker and Emmy van Leersum, is overly simplistic. While their contributions were revolutionary for the field, earlier artists like Alexander Calder had already blended highest artistic freedom with exuberant jewellery design. Calder’s pieces - playful, bold, and detached from fashionable trends - demonstrated that jewellery could bridge the worlds of fine and applied art.

The rejection of gemstones during this period was understandable. The market was saturated with flashy, faceted stones that symbolized conservative wealth, ranging from high-end diamonds to cheap rhinestones. Traditional designs like cameos and moss agates also felt outdated. These materials offered little inspiration to jewellers seeking to create a more conceptual or expressive body of work. This new generation of artists aspired to move beyond a mere personal style to develop cohesive, philosophical artistic oeuvres. They questioned what jewellery could or should be - beyond status symbols or mere body decoration. Yet, ironically, while some jewellers embraced sculptural approaches similar to those in autonomous art, (check out the phantastic stone pieces by Bernhard Schobinger) few explored the sculptural potential of gemstones. They seem to have overlooked the rich history and expressive possibilities of working with stone.

In the Netherlands, the socialisation of jewellery became a dominant ideal: jewellery should be accessible to everyone. This noble goal unfortunately led to the near-total rejection of anything perceived as luxurious or costly. Jewellery artists began to work with humble materials like plastic, rubber, wood, scrap metal, and waste - essentially it had to be worthless. Precious materials were viewed upon with suspicion or even disdain. During my time as a student at the Dutch Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam (1986–1992), this anti-luxury attitude was deeply ingrained. Almost anything made out of or even with only a bit of precious materials (which student can buy a kilo of gold?) was heavily frowned upon, called at least pretentious and vain or (when made with/out of ordinary stones like basalt, granite etc.) works were labelled as small. That’s why, when I visited the Gemstones and Jewellery program in Idar-Oberstein in 1998, it was a a revelation. The creative potential of stone (coming from the Netherlands where there is no stone deposits and thus few rock traditions, its soil being mainly mud and most gemstones are imported diamonds) was a major factor in my decision to accept a professorship there.

At the time, the Idar-Oberstein Campus focused mainly on solid craftsmanship, and the idea of jewellery as art was not widely accepted - nor were outsiders within local business and community, for that matter. In fact, when I organized the first student exhibition in 2000 at the local history museum, it was met with sharp but completely unsubstantiated criticism from the traditional craft community. It was the classic but almost panicked tirade against the new - fuelled by a few reactionary protagonists in close cooperation with the local press. The regional newspaper even set up a public hotline for feedback on how bad the exhibition was. Thankfully, attitudes have shifted somewhat over the past 25 years.

Importantly, the jewellery world should not be viewed as a hierarchical pyramid where status is derived from being at the top. Instead, it should be seen as a horizontal playing field where artists strive for quality—whether in material, craftsmanship, concept, artistic expression, or economic viability. We don’t need to love or admire every piece being made, but we should respect the diversity of approaches and the efforts of our peers.

That said, gemstones still face challenges in contemporary galleries. Many gallerists, accustomed to low-priced jewellery due to decades of democratization, underestimate the time and skill required to work with stone. Their similarly conditioned audiences reject (or just cannot afford) higher prices. As a result, much outstanding jewellery that features stone is rejected - not for lack of merit, but due to misunderstanding or unwillingness by the gallerists to find the right market. This pressure on pricing has driven some stone artists away from galleries altogether, prompting them to seek alternative methods of distribution.

So, in response to the question: yes, the perception and use of gemstones in contemporary jewellery has changed. In Idar-Oberstein, some traditional craftsmen still see the perfectly faceted stone as the Olympus of all possible virtues. But thanks to almost four decades of students being educated in a more artistic environment, even some of the classical gemstone companies are beginning to appreciate the value of working with artists - though they must still come to understand that academic work deserves academic-level pay. Beyond Idar-Oberstein, the over 300 graduates of the Campus have played a key role in reintroducing gemstones into contemporary jewellery. Today, you can find gemstone-inclusive works in nearly every major art jewellery exhibition.
Lisha Wang: Necklace The Unbearable Lightness of Life, 2022. Agate and silver. Photo: Lisha Wang



JK: Campus Idar-Oberstein at the Trier University of Applied Sciences attracts students from different parts of the world. How does this cultural diversity influence the work of young artists? Are there clear differences in the approach to gemstone cutting and jewellery design among students from various cultural backgrounds? Do differences in origins affect the choice of stones and their symbolism in jewellery?
TS: That is a lot in one question. Let's break it down into smaller parts:
Yes, our Campus in Idar-Oberstein receives applications from all over the world – from every continent except Antarctica. Currently, about 50 students from nearly 30 countries are enrolled across three programs: a Bachelor’s, a Master’s, and a second Master’s program in further education, designed for those with vocational training and experience but no formal degree. Both Master's programs are essentially the same; they just have different entry paths.
Having such a culturally diverse student body is a great advantage, though it comes with challenges. At this year’s SILVER festival in Legnica, I met a colleague from Pakistan who had taught one of our students during her Bachelor's studies. He thanked me for helping shape her growth, which was evident in her Master's work. I told him - because through her, we gained insight into Pakistani culture and that we learn a lot from our international students. What stands out is that, instead of losing their cultural identity in such a diverse group, most students actually become more aware and appreciative of their roots. This exposure helps them create work that’s more connected to who they are and more thoughtful about other cultures too. This deeper understanding is one of the Campus's core goals - we believe that people grounded in their own identity and open to others can help build a more tolerant world.

Of course, our programs teach students skills in stone cutting, jewellery making, and adornment. But a relevant part of their growth happens through the community itself - students learning from each other in a shared space, often outside formal classes. They have 24/7 access to the workshops, which, combined with the quiet and rural character of Idar-Oberstein embedded in a narrow valley, supplies the focus needed to grow. This environment with only few distractions is a real asset; fostering competences and skill development in a most concentrated way, the kind of professionalising Malcolm Gladwell discusses in Outliers, on how certain settings and conditions help people reach excellence.

As teachers, we also grow from this diverse environment. We constantly check whether what we teach makes sense across different cultural backgrounds. It expands our perspective and strengthens our appreciation of global diversity. It’s more than knowing, for example, that white is the mourning colour in some Asian cultures. It’s about understanding the deeper meaning behind such practices and rituals. More generally spoken: his kind of empathy is essential for anyone working in adornment, which is deeply tied to human experience.

When it comes to materials, students often want to use stones from their own cultures - like jade or nephrite for Chinese students, or black and white stones for those from Nordic countries. Some Europeans may prefer local materials like basalt, granite, slate or even brickstone. While we initially support these preferences, the creative process and exposure to different cultures at the Campus usually expand their choices over time. Ultimately, the quality and meaning of their work matter more than sticking to one type of stone.


JK: Are Idar-Oberstein students more fascinated by the process of creating the jewellery itself, or do they focus more on the artistic possibilities offered by gemstone cutting? How do these two passions intersect? Is there a particular technique or type of stone that has gained popularity among students and graduates in recent years?
TS: At our Campus, there are three main areas of teaching: Ute Eitzenhöfer has the chair for gemstone studies, Eva-Maria Kollischan teaches art, and I lead jewellery. In the past, students worked on separate projects for each area, rarely combining them. We’ve changed that, encouraging a more integrated approach where gemstones and jewellery are developed together in the most open and free artistic setting.
We also introduced team-teaching for most practical classes. This way, students hear different viewpoints and are encouraged to form their own ideas, not just going for, or follow one or the other professor. We also don’t believe in master classes where often the professor’s style dominates, and too often, their graduates turn out to be almost a kind of clones. This way of working requires much cooperation and trust between colleagues: no matter by whom and in what way the students are advised and in which way their work develops, in the end, the outcome will be good anyway. In fact: the more diverse the views of the teachers, the better. This strategy needs a common understanding of quality and academic requirements within the team. And so, students are encouraged, almost forced, to develop an individual artistic identity.

Over time some students may become so fascinated by working with stone that they stop making jewellery – which can lead to a kind of miniature sculpting. But since we are not a fine arts school, we still emphasize applied work - especially adornment: jewellery that interacts with the body. We constantly explore the space between adornment, object, craft, design, and art - not by drawing strict boundaries, but by focusing on the essence, the core of each field. In this approach, art poses questions, design offers comfort, and craft delivers functional and well-made solutions. Applied art however, especially jewellery, plays a special role by creating tangible symbols and wearable signifiers that help people feel connected to their time and place. Such works offer comfort and identity in an increasingly fast-paced world.
We aim to blend qualities from all areas, rather than separate them. We encourage students to think beyond categories like art, design, or craft and instead understand the purpose and core of their work. There’s no hierarchy - no high or low - just different areas of work, working side by side, ideally in collaboration.
Stone choices are also influenced by budget and skill. Hard stones like sapphire or ruby are expensive and very difficult to work with. Many incoming students say they’ve loved stones since childhood and dream of working with them. But once they try, they quickly realize the reality - stone is tough, water is cold, and time goes fast. Some switch to softer materials like wood, fabric, or plastic. Which, of course, is also ok.

So, in general, there are no favourite stones or techniques among students. More interesting is how students split into two groups: one focuses on shape and meaning, often using opaque stones and working closely with the body. The other is drawn to light, reflection, and transparency, where the body matters less –also because light doesn’t reflect as well when the stone is on the body, where they lose their magical effect. Not many students go in this direction as the most optimal cut has been developed for every possible material, so only free style faceting remains, which most students unfortunately find not to exciting.

Nikita Kavryzhkin: Necklace VOID #9, 2021. Onyx, rubber cord, stainless steel, titanium. Photo: Nikita Kavryzhkin



JK: The exhibition title ROCKstars. Live in Legnica suggests that jewellery and gemstones can be real stars in their own artistic category. The exhibition shows carefully selected works by students and graduates. What distinguished these works from the others? Which of them best reflect this rockstar aesthetic?
TS: Well, of course, they are all stars. To become a ROCKstar, it takes patience, calm, determination, assertiveness, and above all, a special empathy to material, foremost stone.

At our Campus, we keep one piece from each graduate’s final collection on permanent loan. This has built a collection of over 300 representative works - each one chosen not because it is the best, biggest, or most expensive, but because it best reflects the essence of that graduate’s artistic identity. For this exhibition in Legnica, we brought a pre-selection of 100 pieces. Due to the available space, only 29 could be shown. To help the audience connect with each work, we chose a simple presentation format: aside from two 1-square-meter vitrines in the first room, most vitrines contain just one piece. For the ROCKstars – Live in Legnica show, we only included works that incorporate stone - many equally excellent pieces without stone are reserved for other exhibitions.
This show is not labelled as Best of ROCKstars or Greatest Hits. It’s not about ranking the works or choosing favourites. It is almost impossible to say what distinguishes the works in the show from other works in our graduate’s collection. The composition of each show is not merely related to how excellent each of the student’s works is, the show also must be balanced in itself, display the repertoire of the Campus as a whole, and we need to check whether works that interfere with each other are each optimally positioned and get a chance to speak.
From this perspective, there is no single best reflection of the ROCKstars aesthetic, and I have to push back against that phrase. It goes against the core philosophy of our Campus, which is focusing on supporting each student’s individual artistic development. Our goal is not to promote the opinions of teachers or chase commercial trends. We empower ROCKstars!

This philosophy also shapes how we assess student work. While grading is a requirement of the German education system, it doesn’t reflect the way we value art. In fact, we have often awarded the highest grades to works we personally may even dislike or find unattractive, as beauty is not a measure of artistic quality. What matters is that students create meaningful work within the framework of their own goals and vision, as long as it meets the academic standards of the course of study.
Li Sihui: Necklace #1, 2022. Basalt, silver, nylon wire. Photo: Li Sihui


JK: Many of the works presented in the exhibition show a significant attention to detail. What are the most common challenges students face when working on such precise, sculptural projects?​
TS: One of the challenges is simply buying a professional loupe – and then: learning to use it properly. But beyond that, students must also develop the ability to view their own work from a distance, both literally and metaphorically, to see the big picture as well as the finest detail.
To truly appreciate light, one must understand darkness; to enjoy a sunny day, one must know the storm. Working with stone is similar - it involves navigating its inherent contrasts. Stone can be rough and heavy, sometimes sharp-edged, yet it can also feel cool, smooth, almost skin-like. Mastering this material demands both technical virtuosity and a deep dedication to precise execution. Sculptural quality is fundamental. After all, every piece of jewellery is inherently three-dimensional – even a projection or a tattoo on the body is. For this reason, we focus less on teaching students to draw ideas in two dimensions as drawing what you can think of keeps you in your comfort-zone. We focus more on encouraging them to “sketch” directly in three dimensions, using adequate materials. Sometimes, we even advise students not to assess the progress of their stonework with their eyes - but to mainly explore it by touch, relying on their fingers.


JK: Thinking about the future of jewellery, do you believe that new technologies, such as 3D printing, will have a greater impact on the process of creating gemstone jewellery? How is the Campus Idar-Oberstein reacting to these changes and incorporating new technologies into its curriculum?
TS: Digital technology is already having a significant impact on jewellery design, especially in the industrial sector, where jewellery is increasingly treated as a mere product. This shift is often driven by people who operate primarily in virtual environments and lack material empathy - those who evaluate a piece mainly by sight, without much tactile or emotional engagement. As a result, much of what ends up in mainstream jewellery shops reflects a growing disconnect from content beyond beautifying and not much material sensibility. For art jewellery, the threat of non-tactile design is less pronounced, though still present.

But these technologies are pushed with brute force. When laser-welders entered the market decades ago, they were marketed as tools for a revolutionary new era in jewellery design. But looking back thirty years, how many genuinely innovative designs have emerged - pieces that would have been impossible without laser-welding? Not many. In practice, laser-welding is often limited to minor applications, like attaching earring posts. There is little trace of a true design revolution - only economic efficiency. The innovation has mostly led to cost-cutting and job losses for skilled workers. Compare this to architecture, where digital tools have enabled entirely new structural possibilities. In jewellery, by contrast, there are very few digitally produced pieces that a skilled goldsmith couldn’t create by hand. It remains to be seen whether digital technologies will eventually yield a breakthrough in art jewellery.

Currently, voicing a less-than-enthusiastic opinion on digital technologies often earns one the label of dinosaur. But there are alarming developments worth addressing. Some current magazines are increasingly obsessed with abstract, dehumanized, and alien-like forms, with jewellery as futuristic body extensions that exist primarily in virtual space and appeal to a mainly urban, elitist audience. At the risk of being labelled a dinosaur again: these designs seem detached from the core functions of jewellery in society. What do such alienated objects really offer to everyday human life? Where are the virtual works that help us anchor ourselves in our analogue here and now?

In my opinion, jewellery should not become just another form of escapism from our analogue, embodied realities. In today’s turbulent political and social climate, jewellery should be a tool for connection - not alienation. The aesthetic current obsession with body distortion and synthetic enhancement feels like a hollow and dysfunctional response to deeper societal needs. In contrast, a meaningful piece of jewellery - a brooch worn with intention, or a necklace that invites eye contact and conversation - still has the power to foster real, human connection. That, at its core, is the essence of jewellery: communication.
While 3D printing and similar technologies are promising tools, they haven’t yet revolutionized the art jewellery field – and the jewellery field not beyond mass production. In fact, as these tools gain popularity, the decline of thoughtful, well-crafted design in the commercial sector is becoming increasingly visible and problematic. Our students - many of whom are digital natives - often struggle to produce truly meaningful work when confined to their screens. Deep insights and original artistic expression usually emerge through hands-on experimentation, tactile engagement with materials, and genuine, in-person dialogue. Digital tools, no matter how advanced, can’t substitute for this process.

So, we are still waiting for that truly groundbreaking, digital-born piece of jewellery - something more inspiring than a 3D-printed earring with a laser-welded pin. In the meantime, we are cautious about the use of AI. Our university currently forbids its use without prior approval for research purposes. We see that AI often averages existing ideas and lacks the ability to break through creative boundaries. There’s plenty of output - but very little that’s genuinely new and exciting. Our priority remains the development of NI - Natural Intelligence. Once students reach a foundational level of critical and artistic thinking, only then does it make sense to begin discussing the thoughtful use of AI. This rant doesn’t mean that AI, 3D printing, CAD/CAM, and related technologies lack value. They can certainly be powerful tools within a production process - just as traditional jewellery-making includes casters, setters, engravers, and polishers. A new role for the digital technician will inevitably emerge. But this also means letting go of the traditional mindset of the lone artisan who does everything in-house. Digital craftsmanship, too, requires extreme specialization to achieve true excellence.

To find a sustainable and meaningful integration of digital technology in art jewellery, we are currently exploring a partnership with local companies to establish a Bachelor of Engineering in Technical Gemstones. This course new will run alongside our existing art-based courses and create a rich dialogue between two distinct ways of thinking - engineering and art. Rather than offering a diluted, generalist program, we envision a learning environment where highly specialized practitioners from both disciplines can collaborate, challenge, and learn from one another.


Silvia Bellia: Necklace A colon and a capital D, 2021. Silver obsidian, silver, PVC. Photo: Mana Jahangarda



JK: As a professor at an institution with such a strong tradition in gemstone cutting, what do you consider to be the most important challenge young artists face in this field? Gemstone cutting requires great precision and patience. What technical and artistic skills are essential for working with stones in a modern and creative way, while still respecting tradition?
TS: In 2026, our Campus will celebrate its 40th anniversary. Located in Idar-Oberstein, a town with centuries-old roots in gemstone craftsmanship, we are most aware of the weight of tradition - but equally committed to addressing the realities of the present. Among the most pressing challenges we now face is the dramatic changing nature of time itself. In a world that moves faster each day, where speed often overrides depth, and where knowing where to find something (the ask aunty google method) has replaced true understanding. Our work as artists, educators, and makers has also become a form of necessary resistance. A young man with a smirky smile recently informed the world on Instagram that Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. It reflects the superficiality of much modern discourse. Clever, but shallow.

Our field - contemporary jewellery and gemstone work - demands something different. It requires time. Time to touch, to see, to listen, to reflect. Time to understand materials. Time to explore and express identity. So the works gain the ability to connect wearers with viewers - to enable profound communication.
The true challenge for us, then, is not merely technical or aesthetic. It is cultural and human: to withstand the pull of acceleration, and instead uphold a space for contemplation, for slowness, for material intimacy. Our work enables wearers to connect with their identity, and with others. It generates not just adornment but meaning. It creates identifiers - moral, ethical, and psychological tools that help people hold their ground in a constantly shifting world.

Across all the areas we’ve reflected on - from the diversity of our student body to our collaborative teaching model, to our stance on digital tools and the limits of AI—one principle remains constant: we are educating not just jewellers, but culturally aware, materially sensitive communicators. Call them ROCKstars!
In a time when jewellery is at risk of becoming either a fashion product or a virtual abstraction, we hold to its core role: as a tangible expression of human identity and connection. As we look ahead to our fifth decade, that mission feels more urgent - and more relevant - than ever.
 

About the Interviewee

Theo Smeets is an excellent and recognized all over the world jewellery artist and lecturer. He was born in Valkenburg (The Netherlands), graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. Since 1998, he has held a professorship in Jewellery and Object Design at Tier University of Applied Sciences, within the Department of Gemstones and Jewellery, Campus Idar-Oberstein.

About the author

Julita Kamińska has been a member of the team at the Gallery of Art in Legnica since 2008. She is a curator of exhibitions featuring artists from Poland and abroad, with a particular focus on the Legnica SILVER Festival. She is also the initiator of educational projects related to reading, among other areas.