'Quetzál' Nestles Into GIA Museum

Award-winning jewelry designer Ziad Noshie has always been fascinated with birds. Their beauty, strength and the way man learned to build aircrafts by studying the movement of their wings, left quite an impression on him as a child. So when he decided to create a special piece for the GIA Collection, he chose to recreate the Quetzál, the national bird of Guatemala – with its striking hues of green, red and blue – which is on the endangered species list.

 

Titled “Quetzál,” the jeweled, 12-inch replica displays more than 1,100 gemstones ranging from ruby, sapphire and tsavorite garnet to black and colorless diamonds. The gemstones are set in 18K white, rose and yellow gold with sterling silver accents. 

 

Noshie spent 10 months and three days meticulously piecing together “Quetzál.” At times, the extremely minuscule details made him question whether his design could even become a finished piece. The hardest part, and the most maddening, was the detail on the bird’s head, he said.

 

Hundreds of sterling silver, 1/4-inch wires had to be soldered – one at a time – to resemble tufts of feathers. Not only did Noshie have to make sure every solder held, he had to curve each one while it was still malleable. And for every wire he successfully attached, two fell off. He finally completed the job after perching “Quetzál” on a branch of polished black coral.

 

The artist credits his parents for imparting an appreciation for art and beauty in him. His childhood home in Lebanon was filled with fine art and hand-crafted sculptures and he enjoyed watching his father create delicate porcelain table settings. 

 

Noshie moved to the United States in the 1960s to expand his own artistic interests. He studied jewelry design and manufacturing in 1966 at what is now called the Glassell School of Art in Houston, Texas, and continued to refine his skills on his own. He opened Almaza Jewelers in 1968 and has won 28 jewelry and design awards with his creations.

 

“For Ziad Noshie the artist, the colors of stones and gold are as fundamental as the oils taken from and laid in brushwork on a canvas,” said family friend Sharon Klander, Ph.D., a professor at Houston Community College. “The workmanship that went into ‘Quetzál’ clearly reflects standards of the highest order.”  

 

Noshie said he’s honored and proud to have created “Quetzál” for the Institute. He admits it took a lot more work than he expected, but after all the time and effort, he doesn’t want to be the only one to enjoy it. 

 

“It’s like getting your feet wet in the ocean. At first, your toes get wet. Then the waves splash your knees, your legs, your waist,” he said. “You keep getting wetter until you finally get to a point and say, ‘What the heck! Dive in and go with it.’ That’s what I did with ‘Quetzál’ and now others can share in the pleasure it’s brought me.”