18k gold chain with green amethyst by Claire Florence
There is jewelry, and then there is jewelry as an art form. Claire Florence is an artist who uses jewelry as a form of art. She elevates jewelry into art with stunning creations that defy expectation—with abstract, architectural settings for gems. Florence, who divides her time between Miami and New York City, sculpts gold with diamonds and gems, both semi-precious and precious.
Her latest collection uses pale pink morganite, citrine, and diamonds, and she currently has a couple of exhibitions running in East Hampton this summer.
Her latest 2024 collection fuses together abstract art influences with natural materials.
Necklace by Claire Florence
“My true love is abstract expressionism, like the art of Mark Rothko and Helen Frankenthaler,” said Florence, a Bennington College graduate. “Frankenthaler was the mother of abstract expressionism.”
She counts herself a fan of Mark Rothko’s abstract expressionism, “which was about connecting to emotions and feeling,” she said. Florence also counts minimalist artists like Frank Stella, who recently passed away in May, and Yves Klein as inspiring. “An artist’s job is to create a perspective—a new lens in which to see life.”
Florence starts by making her own signature 18k gold, by mixing the right ingredients, yellow gold, rose gold and white gold, achieving a unique color for her jewelry.
The weight of each piece is important to Florence. “How my jewelry feels is just as important as how it looks, especially my signature gold cigar band, which is very heavy,” she said. “It feels like ‘pirate stuff,’ because when you pick up my cuff ring, it is clear what ‘real’ gold feels like.”
Rings by Claire Florence
Florence says that people have forgotten what real jewelry feels like, in terms of its weight — especially with the hollow gold jewelry trend. “I want my clients to feel the value and intention of my pieces,” said Florence. “Each piece is a work of art and is intended to last forever. When clients touch my jewelry, they never want to get jewelry anywhere else.”
For all her collections, she chooses each stone herself. “All the gems I use are natural and repurposed,” said Florence. “I scour auction houses and estate sales to find beautiful stones to repurpose—I feel this is not only good for the earth, but soulfully good in spirit.”
She explains how jewelry is spiritual: “The gems I choose have to have a certain light,” said Florence. “I am obsessed with the gems and recutting with all different patterns. Cushion cut gems are one of my favorites. I usually leave the backs open when I set my gems so that they opt full light to shine through their prism.”
Florence fuses the past and future with her jewelry. She not only looks back on old gemstones but uses artificial intelligence as a tool to create. “I use AI as a tool to get myself out of the norm,” she said. “I was a painting and literature major, so words are just as important as objects. All the art that I generate with AI are protected and trademarked images, unlike painting or the fashion world, where it is very hard to protect your designs.”
18k Gold Chain with Mini Baguette Emerald Cut Blue topaz by Claire Florence
Less is more to Florence. “Minimal is chic, and the perfect canvas for a unique gold sculptural masterpiece,” she said. “I see each collection as a small limited-edition series, like art, so when you wear a piece, you feel how unique you are. To me, art is just a reflection of nature.”
She adds: “I believe the art and creative world is being threatened and I want to preserve the creative process and the art of fine jewelry. It’s an industry that has been bastardized in America.”
Florence sees fine jewelry as the highest art, and the most permanent. “Fine jewelry will tell a story until the end of time,” she said. “One day, these artifacts will be found to tell a story about our life today — like how we look back on the Egyptians now. We cannot lose this art form.”
For more information, visit www.claireflorence.com.
