When you’re a young jewelry artist and beautiful celebrities appear in magazines like Elle, W and Vogue wearing your work, you might start thinking you’ve “arrived.” In the 16 years since artist Todd Reed first discovered rough diamonds, he has achieved a level of acclaim that is rare in the world of studio jewelry.

In the best and true rock star tradition, Reed’s career began with a creative and passionate young man experimenting with something he found cool. A self-taught jeweler whose first metalsmithing efforts involved fashioning silver buttons for leather clothing he made, Todd Reed was drawn to rough diamonds for their unusual, earthy beauty and the challenge they posed to prevailing ideas of value. They were a bit subversive and the fact that most people just didn’t get it made it all the more gratifying when someone really did.

When Reed first discovered the beauty of rough diamonds, just a handful of artists were using them in jewelry. Unlike faceted diamonds that render one crystal virtually identical to another, each rough diamond is unique. Some even look...well, like rocks. Colors range from warm greys and browns to shades of gold and red.

Today, Reed acknowledges that he has come full circle. By combining faceted and rough diamonds and setting them in 18k gold and platinum, rather than challenging notions of precious, he has created a whole new standard for it. His style is unique and instantly recognizable.

Patina occupies a special place in Reed’s heart. He remembers that early in his career, the gallery sold the first piece he made that he considered a work of art. He is excited to return to an artist mode as he prepares for his exhibit here. He plans to create more than thirty new works for the show.

Life has changed dramatically for Reed since he began making jewelry and viewed rough diamonds as social statements. With DeBeers showing interest in raw stones, the material is clearly losing its counter-culture allure, and that’s okay. Reed has moved beyond that statement and is using his status to challenge convention in larger, more active ways. He is now a strong ethical presence within the world of diamond mining and cutting. He buys stones only from the most environmentally sensitive companies and has attracted international attention for his insistence that the cutters with whom he works, pay fairly and ensure decent work conditions. In exchange, he pays more than the market rate per carat, a gesture that has made him the darling of cutters everywhere.

The exhibit title Rockstar references not just the materials and an artist’s lifestyle, it also references what the most respected rock stars of our day sometimes do. From Bono to Willie Nelson and Eddie Vedder, musicians use their success to advance the lives and causes of those in need. By promoting healthy and green practices in his “industry” and championing the cause of workers in developing countries, Reed extends his success to others.

In this, the gallery’s 10th anniversary year, Patina is proud to welcome back an old friend. This is the second Patina exhibit of Reed’s works. A reception will be held for Todd Reed from 5:30 – 7:30, Friday December 5, 2008.

Some retain the polycrystalline coating that renders them opaque and others are the clear, brilliant material that we traditionally think of as diamond. Instead of hard angles and crisp cuts, the stones’ surfaces can be creased and the forms, rounded and irregular. He has recently introduced estate stones and old mine cuts, to his pieces. He even has stones specially cut to replicate the look of stones cut using the old methods.