Into the Blue
Art jeweller Austy Lee transforms his intellectual curiosity into spectacular pieces that combine geological phenomena and ancient mythology
Picture a pebble being tossed into a lake, or wind blowing on water: the placid pool, now disturbed, begins to move outward, creating ripples that spread in ever-expanding patterns. And then, almost as quickly as they form, calm is restored as they settle, until the surface is disturbed once again.
In The Kymatismos collection, Austy Lee translates the ripple effect into jewellery. His juxtaposition of blue enamel against white diamonds in the 18-karat white gold Bluepeonie Ripples Ring captures the waves that emerge in the water at the moment of initial disturbance, the undulating streams of coating and stones suggesting multiple areas of agitation, each creating their own hypnotic pools of movement.
With the Phosphorescence Reflection of Blue-peonie Ripples Bangle, Lee ventures beyond the ripple effect to explore bioluminescence. He adds an element of phosphorescence by setting an Australian black opal on 18-karat white gold, atop blue enamel and white diamonds.
The Australian black opal is a fascinating stone which appears to change colour before your eyes. Opal derives from the Greek word opallios, meaning “to see a change in colour”, which in turn is said to come from upala, the Sanskrit word for “jewel”. The stone is prized for its iridescence, which is a result of an internal structure that causes it to diffract light. Opals may be transparent, translucent or opaque, with the background colour taking on any hue of the visible light spectrum. While white, grey and green opals are commonly found, black opal is a rare treasure.
It is the very darkness of the black opal, caused by carbon and iron oxide trace elements in the stone, that allow its rainbow glow to stand out even more vibrantly than it does with lighter-coloured stones, bringing a particularly magical allure to Lee’s pieces.