Aharoni Jewellery First Steps

The day after Eytan and I were married, we took all the money we’d received at our wedding and went to Tel-Aviv to purchase jewellery-making equipment. Then we set up a workshop inside our small apartment in Haifa and Eytan began to experiment...

Within a few months we’d built up enough stock to make the twice-weekly trip to the Midrekhov, an artists’ and makers’ market in the heart of Tel-Aviv. We loved going there to sell our work and spend time with other artists involved in all manner of creative ventures. Our first son grew up there, in a little cot right next to us.

The Gulf War had a big influence on our lives as young parents in Israel. We decided it was time to experience different places and ways of life, so we set off on an adventure and arrived in South Africa—the ‘land of gold and diamonds’.

We lived in Johannesburg and turned the living room into a workshop. The bench was a desk we asked the shopkeeper to cut for us into the shape of a jeweller’s bench, the motor was hanging off an old broomstick…

There Eytan made beautiful pieces in gold and in silver, often incorporating both metals in one. Again we found a makers’ market where we could sell our jewellery, and we were accepted into the highly regarded craftspeoples’ market at Bryanston, where we sold to locals as well as tourists from all over the world.

Throughout those years we travelled the continent looking for unusual gems, and were fortunate to meet some very talented jewellers from whom we learnt a lot about design and crafting. Our aim was always to design pieces that would bring out the beauty inherent in each stone.In 1991 and 1992, Femina Magazine published two pages of our designs.

Unfortunately the unsettled political situation in South Africa made it necessary for us to find a new home. We arrived in Sydney in 1998, and established a studio-workshop in Double Bay. We joined the annual Australian Craft Show and showcased our work in Sydney Bride Magazine.

creating unique designs

We have endeavoured to create a vibrant studio space where customers can embark on a creative journey with us to create a personalised piece of jewellery unlike anything they’ve seen before. We believe that this is the only way for good jewellery to be created: not mass-produced, but hand-crafted, each piece truly unique, and inspired by the person who will wear and enjoy it forever.

Aharoni Jewellery takes great pride in the following:

• striking jewellery designs in various metals such as gold (9 carat,14 carat, 18 carat, 22 carat, yellow, white, rose), Silver, Titanium and others
• unique jewellery designs in Mokume Gane made of various metals which are fused together and forged to create unusual patterns in the piece
• quality handcrafted jewellery - engagement rings, men’s and women’s wedding rings, dress rings, chains, bracelets, earrings and pendants
• unique designs of men’s jewellery - cufflinks, pendants, bracelets and rings
• a large collection of unique coloured gemstones such as Tanzanite, Paraiba Tourmaline, Spinnel and Paparaja, in extremely unusual cuts which we source all around the world
• offering a guarantee of quality on each and every gemstone set in our collection
• diamond and gemstone setting in our studio in Canberra
• custom made designs according to each person’s individual taste, character and desires
• personal consultations in a friendly atmosphere
• quick, reliable service to our customers
• Jewellers’ Association of Australia (JAA) membership
  

Our workshop provides everything in one: diamond setting, repairs and remodelling, custom designing, or just a friendly chat over a cup of coffee...

We are also very pleased to offer:

• insurance replacement quotes for customers
• remodelling of old pieces of jewellery, giving them a new, fresh look according to customers’ individual requests
• jewellery repairs
• maintenance of jewellery - our customers are welcome to hand us their jewellery for Eytan to inspect under the microscope ensuring that settings are intact and metal is clean
• free of charge cleaning of jewellery for our customers
• detailed description of the item in writing for insurance purposes for any item purchased

the art of jewellery making

The ‘art’ of jewellery making for me is hours of hard work at the bench on the one hand, and the inspiration of years of living and travelling in Africa on the other.

My fascination with beauty in design started at a very young age. I grew up in a house in Haifa surrounded by beautiful objects—from the cutlery and dishes we used at the table, to the old hand-woven Bukhari fabrics the whole family wore on festive occasions. My mother always wore amazing jewellery: richly coloured 22-carat gold, and Afghani Rubies.

I’m sure these things played a large part in determining my choice of occupation!

In my travels through Africa I encountered a wide variety of beautiful gemstones, including Tanzanites, Tsavorites, Tourmalines, and Rhodolites. I began to collect them—some very rare—knowing that one day they would find their way into my work. Gems have indeed become a prominent part of my designs, and I am still travelling once a year, hunting for these stones wherever I go.

Throughout the twenty years I have been making jewellery, the endless combinations of colour and shape have kept me fascinated. However I still believe in clean, simple lines around a gem, because the stone has a life—and light—of its own, and doesn’t need ‘fuss’. The right design is the one that reveals the gem for ‘itself’. And I always hope that some of this fascination and respect for hand-wrought precious metals and gems that Nurit and I share at Aharoni Jewellery will transfer to those who walk through our door...