Thursday, February 6, 2014

Meet the designer – Claudio Pino Fine Art Jewellery

He has an original style and his creations can be considered works of art.

His designs have been much appreciated within exhibitions in America, Europe and Asia and he has received numerous awards and honors for them.

He is constantly in search for new knowledge on jewelry and he masterly succeeds to transpose it into amazing creations.

Dear jewelry lovers, I am honored to present you Claudio Pino, a jewelry designer world renowned especially for his unique sculptural rings.





1. There is a story behind every designer’s work but I felt a lot more in your collections. A great attention to details, powerful meanings, reflections of the human’s journey through time and space, the poetry of the world we live in, as you named it. Where does your passion for jewelry come from?

The History of Jewelry always has fascinated me. Having a gem connected to one's own body movements and having it associated with one's personal appearance is a subject of investigation all by itself. In fact, my passion for jewelry goes back to my childhood. I would always ask to look inside jewelry boxes; I was mesmerized by the vivid colors of the gemstones and the shinning gold, dreaming of one day becoming a famous jewelry designer who could create a magic ring like the ones in the dragon’s tales.

2. You are passionate about gemstones and fascinated by their properties. Do you have a favorite gemstone?

I often juxtapose hot and cold colors together complimented with the fresh hue of white pearls, searching for balance and equilibrium in my jewelry designs. I do have a hick for diamonds, phrenites, rubies and pearls, however, each gemstone is unique and draws its own beauty. Each with different properties, rather physical, chemical, aesthetic and always finds means to amaze me. As a gemstone lover, I always try to define their own poetry and give tribute to their natural characteristics in my design. 


3. How come you design only rings?

Since 1995, I have been dedicated to create unique pieces of jewelry, seeking to convey different emotions, always pushed forward my skills acquired while assuring a total comfort for wearers. Captivated by the deep relationship between rings and owners as well as their symbolism, and history, I started to specialize in rings, both sculptural and kinetic. Sometimes, the set stones, thanks to tiny mechanisms, can follow the movements of the body in multiple ways. Whether being worn daily or on special occasions, rings are the most common and evocative pieces of jewelry. They are very personal and submerged in symbolic meaning. They can be worn as protective talismans or simply as beautiful, precious accessories. Often, people will refuse to go out, or even sleep, without their rings. What, then, makes a ring so powerful, even in contemporary times? Of course, we cannot disregard our past if we are to understand why rings remain so important in our culture. From ancient Egypt to the 21st century, its rich history of thousands of years is intricate and fascinating. Rings endure as objects that have direct connections to our body language and serve as a reflection of one’s appearance and style while recalling memories of our loved ones, representing victories... and their vintage surface projects its unmistakable power...


4. A visit to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo offered you the chance to find out more about the symbolic importance and origin of engagement rings. Tell us a little bit about this journey.

To deepen my knowledge on the history of engagement rings, I went to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which contains the largest collection of ancient Egyptian Jewelry in the world. This collection includes one of the first engagement rings, which was owned by Queen Aah-Hotep, the mother of Ahmose. Seeing the Pharaohs’ jewelry and meeting with well-known specialists allowed me to better understand the ancestral techniques and customs as well as to learn more about the symbolic importance and origin of the engagement ring. This research and creation project had a real impact on my artistic career, and it is from this rich experience that I designed the Vena Amoris Collection. This project was made possible in 2009, thanks to the Conseil des arts et des letters du Quebec.



5. Which is the piece of jewelry that you’re the most proud of?

Each of my jewelry designs brings me different forms of satisfaction. It could be on both conceptual and technical levels as well as based on the emotional drive, which the design can trigger in the public. Recently, I created a sculptural ring entitled INOX Reverie made from stainless steel and gold, which entailed a few technical and conceptual challenges. This ring was built without any soldering point. Powerful, resistant, and strong, yet lustrous and so soft to the touch, its design focuses on the unique properties of stainless steel. It emphasizes the contrast between dark and light, hard and soft, tough and tender. Thus, it juxtaposes the depth of black onyx to luminous yellow Australian Prehnite. INOX Reverie suggests a dreamy, musing state within the fast, contemporary realm and pace of urban life.
INOX Reverie Ring (2013) Stainless steel, 14k gold, Australian yellow prehnite,pearl, onyx. Photo credit: Claudio Pino * Selected design for FERROUS JuriedInternational Exhibit, Velvet da Vinci Gallery, and for Crafhaus as well asfor the 14K Gallery,SNAG 2013.

6. The Trilogie ring encompasses your artistic development by bringing together “the importance of the past, the intensity of the present and the possibilities of the future” (as you said it). What’s next in Pino Fine Art Jewellery?

As soon as a design is completed, I am continually searching for the next idea and I am always thinking about what could be my ultimate design! The road of creativity never stops. 


You can find Claudio's amazing creations on his websites (pinodesign.net and claudiopino.lmrpr.com) or at his future exhibitions:


*** Upcoming Shows ****
2014 – Selected Exhibitions

Delirio y Cordura 
Velvet da Vinci Gallery
San Francisco, California, USA

July 11 to August 12, 2014

Galerie Für Schmuck Meister und Margarita
Solo Show: Claudio Pino: The Power of Rings

Frankfurt, Germany

June 14 to June 20, 2014

SOFA New York
Option Art Gallery

New York, NY, USA

May 8 to 11, 2014

D’OR Exhibition
18Karat Gallery
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

March 31 to April 25, 2014

Gala San Jose 2014
Reinhold Jewelers

San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA


Feb. 18 to 22, 2014


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