How did you start this craft?
In 2000, after graduating from college, I didn’t hesitate, I knew I wanted to practice my new craft. In the autumn of that year, I equipped my first jewellery making studio. I only had the most basic equipment - a gas stove, minimal set of tools and an amateur polishing machine.
What was the first piece of jewellery you made?
My first piece was a series of six rings with cabochons. I was inspired to create them after seeing historical rings at the Gold Rooms of the Hermitage Museum. In 2001, came the next important jewellery piece - the first ring with an inscription in Latin, from which VERBA developed.
© Darren Kane
Do you master any specific techniques?
In my studio, we practice quite simple techniques. A lot of these techniques have been invented by me, sometimes spontaneously, when I was creating my first jewellery pieces. Some of them have changed over time, but some remain the same.
Where do you find your inspiration?
It took some time for me to realise that my main sources of inspiration come from the Ancient World. This is the art of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, but no only jewellery, its whole cultural heritage. I even took part in archeological expeditions to have contact with original material.