Andrew Grima

Louisa Guinness Gallery, London

Acquired from the above by the present owner

Peter Hinks, Twentieth Century British Jewellery: 1900-1980, Faber and Faber, London, 1983, pp. 140, 142

William Grant, Andrew Grima: The Father of Modern Jewelry, ACC Art Books, New York, 2020, pp. 208, 211

Perfectly representative of Grima’s oeuvre in the early 1970s, this unique Citrine and Diamond Pendant/Brooch is a study in the combination of careful, symmetrical precision and a wild, natural messiness. At once geometric and curvilinear, its points of textured yellow-gold wire (a signature of independent London jewelers around this time) radiate out like a sunburst to showcase the magnificent citrine at its center. Working with his craftsmen at HJCo, Grima utilized gold and citrine frequently during this period. A matching 1971 ring can be seen in William Grant, Andrew Grima: The Father of Modern Jewelry, ACC Art Books, New York, 2020, p. 208 and a similar piece featuring the gold-wire details set with an opal, also 1971, can be found on p. 211 of the same book. 'Grima

wanted to make big jewels that were daring, fantastic, even flamboyant but without being clumsy or brash,' scholar Peter Hinks wrote in his seminal study of twentieth-century jewelry (p. 140). This brooch is bold and striking and yet tempered by the careful detail of its surround.