Skip to main content

Legacy of jewelry designer Jose Hess celebrated in new book

Award-winning jewelry designer Jose Hess, one of the original leaders of the American designer jewelry movement, was often asked, “How do you come about creating your designs?”

He often answered, in a simple way, “It’s a flower, it’s the morning rising sun, it’s a tree, the leaves. It’s all love.”

The observations of the man who saw beauty everywhere are celebrated in a forthcoming book. Lovingly written by wife and design partner Magdalena Hess, the coffee table volume captures the essence of his creative soul, which was the fact that he never lost the wonder of the world around him, and saw beauty in literally everything. He often jotted his thoughts and observations in a journal, from which the heart of the book comes.

“He had such a beautiful outlook on things,” says Magdalena. “When I read his journal, I thought I’d put his wonderful thoughts into a book, together with pictures of things we’d designed.”

As a youth, Jose learned the entire jewelry-making process, from melting gold through creating sheet or wire and setting precious gems by hand. He immigrated to the United States, finished his education, worked his way up in the jewelry industry, and landed a job with a legendary jewelry designer before he set out on his own.

Jewelry store owners loved his designs, but refused to sell them under his name. Jose made it his mission to forge acceptance of branded and designer jewelry, becoming one of the architects of the entire designer and branded sector of the industry, and one of the “fathers of American jewelry design.”

Always an advocate for designer jewelry, Jose became an industry leader, serving as the first American president of CIBJO. He was active in the founding of the American Jewelry Design Council and later continued to mentor emerging young designers and consult for jewelry companies around the world.

The 52-page coffee table book offers Jose’s insights and observations on a variety of subjects, such as love, beauty, humor, friendship, children, marriage, even a chapter on advice to young designers, and much more, taken from the many journals he left behind with his beloved Magdalena.

“I am blessed to have had Jose as soulmate, creative partner, friend, husband, and the love of my life. This book is for all family and friends in our lives,” says Magdalena.

To buy a copy in any of its various editions, visit JoseHess.com.

The post Legacy of jewelry designer Jose Hess celebrated in new book appeared first on Southern Jewelry News.

Popular posts from this blog

Furry Friends on the Job: Say hello to Daisy of Billers Jewelers

Reading Time: < 1 minute Say hello to Daisy! Daisy is a 9-year-old boxer that is employed as the “sweetest greeter” at Billers Jewelers in Burlington, North Carolina. Daisy loves to play outside with other doggy friends, greet the customers and visitors to Billers Jewelry, take doggie naps on her bed and of course, eat! As you can see, Daisy loves to look stylish in her pearl necklaces. The fashionable pooch has a collar for every event The post Furry Friends on the Job: Say hello to Daisy of Billers Jewelers appeared first on Southern Jewelry News . from Southern Jewelry News https://ift.tt/9C0xP6N

Botswana’s ODC Halts All Rough Sales

Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) has halted all rough sales as global demand remains at record low levels. It says it has cancelled its November auction and may do likewise in December. “For the first time, we have had to build up inventory as we do not want to just irresponsibly release goods into a market […] The post Botswana’s ODC Halts All Rough Sales appeared first on The Jewelry Magazine . from The Jewelry Magazine https://ift.tt/ulKAeoZ

The Story Behind the Stone: Metal Mashup

Reading Time: 6 minutes I have to confess I just learned about electrum when this topic crawled up on my radar. We love the wide range of jewelry metals today that give consumers tremendous options for creating the exact piece of their dreams. Metal alloys are some of the more exciting variations for imaginative jewelry designers to work with. These options better reflect the tastes of a client and help them to personalize their jewelry, making it truly unique to them. Brooch with a griffin, from the necropolis of Kameiros, Rhodes, c.  625–600 BC (Louvre). Natural Alloy One topic catching my eye at the moment is a rare and naturally occurring metal alloy – electrum. This word, electrum may be uncommon to modern society, but it’s a Latin word derived from the Greek electron mentioned in the Odyssey referring to a metallic substance consisting of gold alloyed with silver. Electrum was usually called white gold in antiquity. But more accurately it was described as pale gold since ...