PRESENTATION OF: Armoura Jewellery (Stuart McGrath)

At an early age Stuart was always sketching and modelling with clay. This strong creative streak has always driven him to fashion beautiful objets d'art. Having studied fine art sculpture in Dublin, he then travelled to London and Italy to study classical sculpture in detail. Stuart went on to a successful career as a master sculptor restoring historical architecture and designing monuments incorporating ornamentation, typography and symbolism. After a serious accident, Stuart could no longer work on a large scale with stone, and after a brief period in product design and fashion industry this influenced him to follow his true passion, designing fine contemporary jewellery based on the principals and craftsmanship learnt through sculpture. Stuart’s pieces retain much of the distinctive sculptural characteristics of form, weight, finesse and a tactile nature. “I believe that there is a synergy to creating any work of art, on one side you need an understanding of the materials and technical element of craftsmanship which in turn influences the design process. These two elements should balance the development creating a circle of design, material informs design and design leading the craft." Ranging from starkly modern abstract forms with clean lines to highly detailed and ornate, pieces often incorporate landscape and nature featuring symbolism fused with considered aesthetic balance and physicality. Inspired by his travels and other cultures Stuart creates pieces that narrate a story capturing the spirit and imagination of a discovered treasure from a lost civilisation, the essence of a scene from nature and other abstract designs are cutting edge contemporary pieces. In many of these collections of jewellery you’ll find references of classical sculpture, architecture, antiquity, mythology and sometimes the fantastical and mysterious. All pieces are crafted from gold and silver along with precious and semi precious stones. The interaction between light and form allow the designs to dance, shimmer and glow.