10 People Who Influenced The Jewelry Industry Throughout History

Jeanne Poiret was born in Paris, France in 1871 as the daughter of a cloth merchant and a well-educated mother. Jeanne Poiret Boivin is a notable figure in the jewelry industry for many reasons, not the least of which being that like many fields, jewelry was male-dominated until relatively recently in history. Jeanne herself managed a jewelry firm called House of Boivin alongside her husband and brother for more than four decades, from 1917 until her death in 1959.

Today, we remember her for a few reasons: her foresight to include women in the design process, her business acumen, and the use of new materials in House of Boivin’s jewelry designs, including rock crystal and wood.

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Next on our list, Suzanne Belperron was actually an employee of Jeanne Poiret Boivin in her 20s, where she began as a salesperson and ended up creating her own jewelry designs. Suzanne Belperron was born in eastern France in 1900. However, she only lived in her birthplace for a year before her family moved to Besançon, the birthplace of France’s watch industry.

A few years later, in 1932, Belperron went to work for Bernard Herz, a natural pearl dealer in Paris who offered her a design role. At this point, she famously decided not to sign her pieces because her jewelry’s iconic and recognizable look effectively served as her signature. She had truly made a name for herself in the design world and created a style that she alone became known for.

From this point forward Belperron’s work began to be seen everywhere, including several more features in Vogue Paris (including a cover). When she was offered the chance to purchase the B Herz company, she did and renamed it Suzanne Belperron, S.A.R.L.

Throughout her tenure as a designer, Belperron’s designs were bold, colorful, and often larger-than-life in a way that was somehow still classy and tasteful. This tension between exuberance and elegance defined her work throughout her lifetime. Belperron’s status and legacy can be seen in many places today, including her rank of Knight of the Legion of Honor from the French state.

The revitalized pieces are overseen today by Nico Landrigaan, President of Belperron, who aims to use the pieces to speak to a new generation of jewelry collectors. 

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Next on our list of jewelry influences is Paul Flato, born in 1900 (like Belperron) in Shiner, Texas. He showed an early interest in jewelry, but approached it from the perspective of the son of a cattleman by working with silver wire. 

Flato had dreams of going to medical school after he graduated from The University of Texas at Austin, but instead was pushed into the watch salesman business to help support his family with immediate income.

Soon after, he opened his own jewelry shop in New York across the street from what would later become Tiffany & Co. Later in his career, he opened another store in Beverly Hills to continue to serve his clientele, which included many celebrities. His designs also graced six movie screens, including Katherine Hepburn and Greta Garbo films.

Unfortunately, Flato’s story has a complicated ending. In 1943, Flato was convicted of taking over $100,000 in jewels that his clients had trusted him to hold onto and pawning them for cash. However, Flato maintained his innocence, and it came out soon after that his tailor had stolen the jewels and Flato was innocent.

He was released in 1945, though not without a dark cloud over his name for many years to come. Late in life, Flato ultimately returned to his birthplace of Texas to spend time with his family. 

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Otto Frei was born in Switzerland in the early 1900s. In 1929, he and his wife Alice moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to further their respective careers—Otto’s being in watchmaking. Even early in his career, his watches were in high demand and his skills were undeniable. After Otto and Alice’s son John was born, they moved to California where the Otto Frei company is still based today.

Although Otto passed away in 1980, the company lives on today and Otto’s great grandchildren (the fourth generation to be involved in the company) continue to share his legacy. We remember him for his deep expertise in the watch industry, his connection to Swiss watch parts in the US, and his love for his family. 

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Friedrich Becker was born in 1922 in Herdecke-Ende, Germany. His first work experience was an apprenticeship under a goldsmith, where he began to learn metalworking and hone his eye for jewelry. After his apprenticeship, he studied at the Meisterschule für Werkkunst Düsseldorf (the Master School for Craftsmanship), where he later taught. 

Despite Becker’s early training as a goldsmith, gold jewelry is not what he’s known for today. Instead, he created a new type of jewelry called kinetic jewelry that became his signature.

He began testing these concepts in 1965, and his jewelry from that point forward became characterized by designs that had moving parts and dynamic designs. He often played with the juxtaposition between the sleek metal materials he used and the playful, fluid movement they enabled.

Any small error in the production process could mean the piece wouldn’t move as designed. Becker brought this attention-to-detail and precision to every work he created throughout his career. 

In 1959, Becker developed a gauge that would determine the carat weight of each stone. In developing this new tool, he sought to prioritize the aesthetics of the device and the user experience of the movement, much like his kinetic jewelry.

Becker was already highly respected in his lifetime. He received several awards for his work and his pieces were featured in exhibitions across the world over his lifetime. Important mentions include his solo exhibition at Goldsmiths’ Hall in London and his honorary doctorate degree from the Royal College of Art in London. Clearly, Becker’s talent was recognized early.  

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G. Phil Poirier is a present-day jeweler that works with Damascus Stainless Steel and 18K gold based out of Taos, New Mexico. His process is unique in that he tackles the early steps of the jewelry process himself, including milling his own metals and cutting his own stones.

He describes the metal milling process as giving him more control over the final color and gauge for the pieces he creates, and more creative designs when it comes to the gemstones he forms. Poirier’s designs are also especially durable and functional because of the care he puts into the early metalsmith processes.

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James Binnion currently owns a studio called James Binnion Metal Arts (JBMA) in Bellingham, Washington. James, who also goes by Jim, specializes in using mokume-gane, a special metalworking procedure that originated in Japan. Mokume-gane, which loosely translates to “wood grain metal” in English, is a laminated metal that, like its name suggests, ends up creating patterns that look almost like wood grain.

JBMA produces only jewelry in mokume-gane and specializes in mokume-gane wedding rings. These custom pieces offer a nontraditional option for brides and grooms looking to add a little flair to their ring choices.

Mokume-gane is also unique in that, like wood grain, no two designs will end up exactly the same. JBMA works with its clients to customize each design and tailor the process and the final result to the person who will be wearing it.

One other innovation that can be attributed to Binnion is the use of the electric kiln to fire mokume-gane pieces.

Jayne Redman has worked in the jewelry industry since graduating with a B.F.A. in Jewelry and Silversmithing from Maine College of Art back in 1977. She started her namesake company, Jayne Redman Jewelry, a few years later in 1982 and has been working and teaching in the jewelry design space ever since.

Redman is known for integrating mechanics with her designs, not entirely unlike Friedrich Becker’s kinetic jewelry. While Becker’s process went a little further with the actual movement that was possible in each piece, Redman follows Becker’s lead in applying principles of physics and engineering to her pieces.

Victoria Lansford is another notable designer whose designs are still in high demand today. Lansford has worked in the arts for over 40 years, experimenting with creating across multiple media and using a variety of styles and techniques.

Lansford’s work has been featured in museums including the Museum of Contemporary Craft, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the Wayne Arts Center, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and more. She’s also been featured in many art-related publications including Jewelry Artist Magazine. 

Today, she continues to design new pieces out of Atlanta, Georgia. She also gives back to the art world and the next generation of artists with sold-out workshops, books, articles, and apps to share her creative gift with others around the world. 

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Jason Stinchfield is a “master coin ring maker” who first became fascinated with coin rings back in 2008. Realizing that there wasn’t much information about how to actually create rings from metal coins, he took it upon himself to create his own process which he now teaches to others.

Stinchfield’s work is a testament to thinking outside the box with your approach to creative expression. He saw an opening to create something new, honed his skills even though there was no instruction manual at the time, and then created that very manual for those who would come after him.

We’re sure to see future innovators expand upon Stinchfield’s discovery and create something new that wouldn’t have been possible without the coin ring process. 

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