Jewelry makes a first impression. Jeff and Susan Wise make sure its unforgettable with their sculptural high carat gold works featuring juicy precious and non-precious stones. Diamonds and sapphires sparkle alongside an astonishing palette of stones like apple green chrysoprase, creamy blue-grey chalcedony, black jade and hot red Mediterranean coral. With color so much in the forefront this season, full sweeping skirts and references to the American Southwest, these pieces will enchant both fashion lovers and those who look for classic beauty that endures.

Exquisite craftsmanship and a delightful sense of play are Wise signatures. Elements swivel, rock and spin. These often high color works are masterpieces of engineering, suggesting toys and kinetic sculptures. Inlay of contrasting colors provides pattern while grids and baskets of fine gold wire add contrast and texture. The stones, all cut by the Wises, can be chunky with soft, curving surfaces or teeny, and applied with great delicacy. Complementing gold forms are frequently treated with a matte texture causing light to gleam warmly from the surface.

Describing the brooch, “Anasazi Bouquet,” Jeff admits that he wanted to create a piece “with one foot in artistry and the other in outer space.” This piece has a tapering 18k gold basket with protruding shards of jasper, found by Jeff and Susan near their home in Colorado. “They are actual remnants from the making of an arrowhead and are hundreds of years old.”

Married for 23 years, Jeff and Susan Wise have been collaborators in their studio for 15 of them. Both are metalsmiths and stonecutters, and work together, closely, on the design and execution of each piece. Their marriage is a collaborative relationship in every respect As artists sharing a studio and creative spark, arguments can develop over the choice of a stone or the shape of a gold element. “We work it out pretty quickly,” says Jeff, who acknowledges that arguments only arise because each has such a confident vision.

Dynamic, exciting women, weary of the same old jewelry have discovered that jewelry is an expression of who they are. Jeff and Susan Wise create exuberant, bold jewelry that declares a woman’s beauty, character and joy in life.