Andrew Grima
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Andrew Grima (31 May 1921 – 26 December 2007) was a British Royal jewellery, designer and artisan. He became the foremost modern jewellery designer in the West End of London in the 1960s and 1970s, selling designs from his exclusive gallery in Knightsbridge.
The name Grima gained recognition in fine jewellery following the 1961 Exhibition of International Jewellery. His distinctive jewellery designs, made from precious metals such as 18 carat gold and platinum worked into highly textured, organic and bold, seemingly random abstract shapes incorporating precious gemstones and were often copied in the late 1960s and 1970s. Pieces by Grima are often marked AG or Grima and are highly sought after by collectors.[1]
Grima was appointed as a Crown Jeweller in 1970 commissioned to make various items of jewellery for the British and Scandinavian Royal Family.
Andrew Grima - Royal Jeweller. grimajewellery.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-08.</ref>
Born in Rome in 1921, Grima came to jewellery design in 1946, after nearly five years as an engineer with the 7th Indian Division in Burma. He joined his future father-in-law’s jewellery business in London, where he assumed design responsibilities. A prolific painter, Grima approached each piece as a painting, which was the beginning, and has remained, the start of his design process.
Grima was interested in the organic possibilities if jewellery design and he made an early decision to move away from the forms and materials of classical jewellery prevalent at the time. Grima preferred gold to silver, textured and unconventional stones over classic shapes and cuts. Grima’s work focused on exotic stones, pearls or grained quartzes, whose visual impact outweighed their monetary value. Precious stones, when used, were designed to embed as integral parts of the design, not set as the focus of the piece itself, as they were in classically designed jewellery.
He also experimented with casting objects found in nature, a piece of lichen sent to him by HRH Princess Margaret, was cast in yellow gold, offset with brilliant-cut diamonds and transformed into a brooch. He also cast leaves and other natural objects, which formed the basis of many of his early designs. These materials and methods became his hallmark.
In the 1960’s Grima went on to win twelve De Beers Diamond International Awards. He opened his Jermyn Street shop in 1966 and received the Queen’s Royal Warrant in the same year. Grima held the Royal Warrant for twenty years until he moved to Switzerland in 1986. Throughout this period, the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, Princess Anne, The Duke of Edinburgh, Barbara Hepworth and Jacqueline Onassis commissioned Grima.
In 1969, Grima was commissioned by Omega to create a collection of watches, which developed the idea of seeing time through gemstones. This collection became known as About Time. In the 1970’s Grima opened galleries in New York, Sydney and Tokyo.
Andrew Grima died in Gstaad on 26th December 2007
Today, his wife Jojo and daughter Francesca design and sell bespoke pieces from their shop in Gstaad and bi-annual exhibitions in London. Most work is through private commission and furthers the techniques pioneered in the 1960’s such as textured wire, organic forms and casting.
[edit] References
- ^ Giles, Stephen. Miller's jewellery Antiques Checklist. Octopus Publishing Group Ltd., pp.46. ISBN 1-857328167.
