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©Al Higgins
©All rights reserved
©Mike Bunn
©Mike Bunn
©Al Higgins

Nigel O'Reilly

  • Jewellery maker
  • Castlebar, Ireland
  • Rising Star
Nigel O'Reilly Jewellery maker
Contact
Hours:
Monday to Saturday 10:00 - 17:00
Phone:
+353 949002601
©Al Higgins

Wearable art

  • • Nigel opened his workshop in 2012
  • • He trained as a precision engineer of vascular surgical devices
  • • His work was featured in a Sotheby’s exhibition in New York

Love brought Nigel O’Reilly to jewellery making, when he made a ring to impress his girlfriend. Today, Nigel is one of the most well-known and respected jewellery makers in Ireland whose stunning objects are regularly worn by celebrities, featured in fashion shoots and talked about in connoisseur circles. With all the limelight, Nigel remains devoted to his home country having opened a studio in Castlebar on the west coast of Ireland in 2012 and enjoying the rural idyll ever since. Nigel's work is poetic at its core, his objects are bold pieces of creative excellence, built to last forever. Over the years, he has mastered the skill of optical diamond setting, a technique that ensures a flawless sense of beauty in his works.

Read the full interview

Works

  • ©Richard Foster
  • ©Richard Foster
  • ©Richard Foster
  • ©Richard Foster
  • ©Richard Foster
Photo: ©Richard Foster
Hemisphere

Nature’s organic deconstruction inspired Nigel O'Reilly to design this minutely detailed signature ring. The central golden pearl is ensconced in a curving and partially exposed golden shell. The body of the pearl is held in a golden cup reticulated with hundreds of Nigel’s hand-set rubies.

Width 2.2 cm
Height 4 cm
Diameter 2.2 cm

Photo: ©Richard Foster
Jack & Queen

This mismatched set of earrings was designed by Nigel to stand out in their boldness and juxtaposing colour combination. Each earring is handmade in hinged rose gold which allows for full articulation. Light gleams through the facets of the rare and richly vibrant gems.

Length 6 cm
Width 2 cm

Photo: ©Richard Foster
Lace Comets

Nigel O'Reilly was inspired by the ancient technique of origami. The length of folded white gold is entirely drilled by Nigel’s hand, creating a vitrine of light and shadow coloured with the warmth of rubies and orange sapphires. It has a jagged aesthetic with hand-set diamonds.

Length 6 cm
Width 2 cm

Photo: ©Richard Foster
Orb

The piece is inspired by the natural process of plant seeds and their organic dispersal. The pearl is central to the overall design, surrounded by a golden cup containing hundreds of carved apertures and set with pink and orange sapphires. A secondary outer latticed cup is set with pink and green diamonds. Nigel has cut a cross-section under the pearl allowing the viewer to peer inside this little ‘world’ and observe it in microscopic detail.

Width 2.2 cm
Height 4 cm
Diameter 2.2 cm

Photo: ©Richard Foster
Talisman Cuff

Intertwining strands of rose gold, overlap each other in a lattice of undulating shape and rhythm and Nigel has set each strand with inky blue sapphires, interspersed with white marquise diamonds. Nigel created a hand-carved clasp and a hinged mechanism so that the entire cuff opens outward, a nod to his precision engineering background.

Width 0.5 cm
Height 5 cm
Diameter 6 cm

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