I recently visited legendary Russian jewelry design Alex Soldier’s studio in the garment district of Manhattan. My eyes lit up upon entering the clean and chic space filled with display cases of not only his fabulous precious and semi-precious jewelry currently for sale in luxe stores like Neiman’s and Bergdorf’s, but real gold and gemstone awards he created for the likes of Barysnikov and the Princess Grace Foundation. To say that the details are intricate on these statuettes is an understatement and each have a special 3D effect where they look like different shapes depending how you turn them!
My favorite part of my tour was trying on this jewelry legend’s glamorous and often oversized pieces. A constant motif that Soldier uses is the snail–he says he admires them because they are not rushing everywhere like the members of today’s busy society (especially in NYC)! There were some huge multistone rings I tried on with not only gorgeous details on the front and sides of the ring but in the back. Soldier has magnificent hand-done scroll work behind where the stones are set! You can find almost a secret code back there that brings the motif from the front of the piece to the back. For instance, an astrological themed piece might have the different signs of the zodiac in the gold, silver or platinum scrollwork pattern!
Solder seems to believe in overstatement a little more than understatement but one of his greatest sets is understated silver butterfly earrings with a matching bracelet. There is just one simple diamond shaped tourmaline in the center of each butterfly and this set touched my heart as I realized it would be a wonderful gift and eventual heirloom for any women from 13 to 100! I want to add that Soldier’s pieces are often convertible–for instance, several pins can become pendants or break into two to become earrings. All locks are extremely secure, too!
Soldier puts more work into his jewelry than any other I have worked with, and he is willing to customize pieces to a client’s liking. He also creates entirely custom pieces. For more info, go to www.alexsoldier.com. BTW, he’s got a few unique diamond rings that would make wonderful wedding bands for a man or a woman and terrific cufflinks and tie bars for the sophisticated gent in your life!
