Variations on a Theme: 25 Years of Design from the AJDC

Members of the American Jewelry Design Council (AJDC), a nonprofit education group formed in 1988 to promote American jewelry design, are dedicated to raising awareness about the aesthetic value of artistic fine jewelry. “Variations on a Theme” featured a selection of more than 150 works of jewelry and objet d’art created by 40 AJDC designers as part of an annual project started in 1996. Each year the one- or two-word themes – such as water, spiral, tear and flight – offer designers the opportunity to interpret meaning from their individual perspective. The result is an array of designs with a common thread, each distinctly expressive of its designer, that elevates American jewelry designs as art work sought by collectors and museums.

This exhibit, which celebrates 25 years of AJDC, debuted in September 2013 at the Forbes Galleries in New York, followed by an exhibit at Kent State University in Ohio.