Petra Class
The allure of improvisation
Trained as a silversmith in Germany but working in San Francisco, Petra Class has been with Patina Gallery from the beginning. She works with uncut gemstones, setting them into high-karat gold to create works in which the materials interact with tension and beauty.
In a way, she uses the colors of gems as painters use pigment, creating juxtapositions that are a joy to wear.
Pink tourmalines and blue sapphires, both in their natural shape and form, are wrapped in their settings, almost becoming one with the gold that encases them.
Impressionistic. Improvisational. Unexpected. Rhythmical. Petra’s work surpasses these descriptions. They’re more than the sum of their individual elements, and more than the sum of words that can only approximate their qualities.