Nouveau Agate Earrings

Agate, sterling silver, 18k gold, lab diamonds

1.5 x 2.5 inches long

This body of work is inspired by color and form, and aims to ignore what most consider to be fine jewelry. Silver and some of the non-precious or semi-precious stones used in these pieces are generally not considered worthy of the fine jewelry moniker. That distinction is purely fabricated from the industry and consumers, and given the volatility of that market, that distinction should be opened up. The stones and metals in this work are chosen purely for the color and visual effects they provide that enhance the design. When materials of any kind are combined with a level of craftsmanship and an eye for design, the latter two factors should be what makes the jewelry fine.

Artist Bio:
Tinkering with craft and jewelry began for Baleigh Acebo as a wee adolescent, growing up in the lush, green mountains of Vermont. After pursuing a BFA in Creative Writing she realized she had made a terrible mistake, on a very expensive education, because what she wanted to do was work with her hands. She then enrolled in the North Bennet Street School’s Jewelry Making & Repair program in Bahston, MA and everything was good again. Baleigh was technically trained to craft her own tools, fabricate intricate pieces from scratch, handset diamonds & precious gems and repair fine jewelry.
As a process jeweler, Baleigh is turned on from the problem solving involved in designing intricate pieces and setting weird stones. Her work employs bold colors, clean lines and lots of geometry.
Baleigh can be found teaching super fun and awesome metalsmithing and stone setting workshops in Colorado and across the US. She is also the head jeweler at Balefire Goods, a custom and art jewelry gallery in Arvada, CO. Baleigh works out of her home studio in Denver, CO which she shares with her talented hubs Alex Boyd, along with their 3 adorable floofs.