Suarti Collection Jewellery

Balinese Sterling Silver Jewellery

Balinese jewellery is different - some might say, unique - and worldwide it has a well earned reputation for its distinctive style, wonderful craftmanship and high quality.

But, it also has a further, less tangible, quality that comes uniquely from the Balinese culture and way of life. We may call it "spirit" or "inspiration", the Balinese call it "taksu".

In Bali it is believed that to create art or practice a craft is to celebrate and give thanks to the spiritual world, to make an offering to god. In order to make this offering as pleasing as possible, the artist seeks divine assistance, or "taksu". In turn, the result of any performance or creative act can be said to be imbued with this spirit and, ultimately, we, as observer, listener, wearer, can also be thought of as participating in this process.

In the jewellery this quality may first be seen in the exquisite design and distinctive style of the pieces. Then there is the skill and supreme craftmanship of the maker; the exactness and painstaking attention to detail. Finally, it may be found in the high standard of materials used and the sheer quality of the finished article.

Little wonder then Suarti so often refers to her jewellery as "wearable art" and claims it is "made with love"!

The Suarti Collection

The jewellery we sell is from The Suarti Collection. This is Suarti's original line of art jewellery blending traditional design and modern styling. More recently she has developed a range of contemporary fashion jewellery called "Ritual of Fire".

Materials, Techniques and Glossary

Materials

All the silver used is of "sterling" standard, that is 92.5% (925 parts per thousand) pure silver, and items are marked "BA 925" or "925 BA" to confirm the quality and source, Bali. Where required items are also hallmarked in accordance with UK regulations.
All the semi-precious stones used are entirely natural and from high quality sources, mainly in South America. The opals are from Australia and turquoise from northern Mexico. The amber is Baltic in origin.
Other materials used include abalone, or paua, shell, mother of pearl, pearl and hardwood.
Gold is often used as a focus or to accent the design. The technique involves soldering small, preformed gold decorations to the silver base rather than plating.

Granulation

An ancient technique, unique to Bali, for producing tiny spheres, or granules, of silver by heating small pieces of wire in a shallow pan until they "pop" into beads. These are then positioned by hand on the piece and fused in place (e.g. this earring shown many times actual size.)

Oxidization

The deliberate darkening of the surface of the silver in order to give depth and contrast to the design (e.g the background of this cuff .) Actually a misnomer since the effect is produced by exposure to sulphur in the atmosphere and not oxygen, all silver is subject to the process over time when it is known as tarnishing.

Filigree

Fine silver wire bent to shape and soldered together to create a pattern on a background (e.g. this cuff detail ) or to form an object (e.g the lavender jade pendant), often incorporating small silver granules to accent the design.

Borobudur

Tulang Naga

Hallmark

BJewelled Silver Jewellery, Carradale, Argyll, Scotland, PA28 6QT.......01583-431298