One of the most important jewellery designer
Andrew Grima (1921-2007), was born in Rome, the son of a Maltese father and an Italian mother, descendant of the Farnese, a celebrated Italian Renaissance family.
One of the most important jewellery designer
He was the most important modern jewellery designer in London in the 1960s and 1970s. Self-taught, he discovered his vocation in jewellery when he had the opportunity to work at his father-in-law’s jewellery firm in London (in sales) in the 1940s. There, he was captivated by the beauty of the precious stones he saw in the suitcase of a gem dealer who entered the store – which motivated him to start working on the material.
The great modernist jeweler of the 20th century
Grima opened a store in London, which operated between 1966 and 1986. He is considered one of the great modernist jewelers of the 20th century, having ‘rocked’ the postwar jewelry world. Currently, his pieces are part of the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Worshpiful Company of Goldsmiths.
The great impressionist
Grima considered himself a designer, insofar as he was not influenced by technical obstacles – his limits were those of his own imagination which was limitless. Grima explored the abstract possibilities of jewelery as ‘wearable sculpture’ – he is known as ‘the great impressionist’ of jewelery; he created geometric and irregular shapes, unconventional, with angles, bold textures and colored gems or crystals sometimes not cut. Typically, Grima only made one copy of each piece he drew, so each piece of jewelry is truly unique.
A favorite among celebrities and royalty
Grima’s pieces were appreciated by royalty, celebrities, ‘socialites’ and artists during the 60s and 70s. Their first clients included Queen Isabel II, Princess Margaret, Jackie Kennedy, Estée Lauder and “bond- girl” Ursula Andress. Nowadays, collectors of his work include fashion designers like Mark Jacobs and Miuccia Prada. Andrew Grima’s pieces are very elegant, bold, strong, and full of character. You will be able to see some of his pieces in J. Baptista’s online catalogue, www.josebaptista.com
Grima created bold and unusual jewels, whose value lay more in their aesthetic composition than in the carat weight of the gems and diamonds that make them up.