The jewellery of Antonio Bernardo blends a certain artistic restlessness with contemporary design, evoking the journey of the artist himself.
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Under the balmy skies of Rio de Janeiro, jewellery designer Antonio Bernardo combines traditional savoir-faire with innovative and sophisticated technology to create pieces that often resemble wearable art. “I like to investigate the materials that I am using, both functionally and physically,” he says, “and to experiment with new ways of creating and innovating.” The result is a style that is both minimalist and sculptural, and, Bernardo insists, “with pieces crafted to the most exacting standards of quality.”
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Antonio Bernardo came to appreciate jewellery at a young because of his father, whose store specialized in jewellery and watches. “I began designing jewellery in the 1970s,” he reminisces. “My first creation was a silver ring made from two composite hoops.” This was followed by experimentations with gold—a metal that he uses in many expressive ways—and then later by the many gemstones found in his native Brazil.
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This year Bernardo explores textures and contrasts. Optical illusions, movement, and brushed and polished surfaces are present in his new pieces, which include: Fantasy bracelet, with its brushed gold circles set with Brazilian gemstones; Venus earrings where metal envelops a delicate pearl, a symbol of femininity; Special Luminoso necklace, exhibiting the moving reflections of a polished finish (the sparkle does not come from gems or diamonds, but from polished cupped depressions in the metal); the Tríade ring, with the band simulating a triple passage, as if three blades were crossing through the metal; the whimsical Puzzle Curvo ring with its removable puzzle pieces; the Perspectiva bracelet and earrings, producing the optical illusion of perspective due to its elongated and quadrangle-shaped parts; the Tons bracelet in different colour tones, creating a dynamic juxtaposition of tobacco and carbon-blue agate; the Prisma Múltiplo earrings, inspired by a prism, whose gems are fashioned with levelled polished facets, producing an array of reflections and plays of light (with only a gold thread surrounding their edge, these pieces evoke tri-dimensional transparency); and the Together bracelet with its surprising intertwining gold lines.
Extremely popular in his own country, the designs of Antonio Bernardo made their entrance onto the international stage in 2003, when he first won the German industrial design award IF Design and Red Dot—which he has continued to win every year since. The brand exhibits at BaselWorld, Inhorgenta, and this year will be at the Couture Show in Las Vegas, as the original jewels of Antonio Bernardo continue their artistic journey.
