Twin brothers David and Michael Robinson work together to create dazzlingly beautiful art jewels.
It’s on Australia’s lush Gold Coast that identical twins David and Michael Robinson give birth to exquisitely intricate, colorful, handcrafted masterpieces. Overlooking the waterfront and tropical gardens, the eco-friendly workshop, which uses solar power and collected rainwater, affords the jewelers beautiful views and a rare closeness to nature.
“The space has three floor-to-ceiling glass walls, two of which are louvered glass that we can open to let a breeze through. It feels as though we are working outdoors most days,” says Michael Robinson.
Born and raised in New Zealand, the brothers had access to their father Ken’s jewelry workshop and would often start the day there marveling at the different tools and job packets before heading off to school. A deep concern for the environment and “being green” took root alongside an enthusiasm for jewelry making. The family moved to Europe, where Ken worked for the likes of Chaumet and Backes & Strauss, before relocating to Australia, where David and Michael set up their atelier.
With no PR or marketing team to promote their brand, the twins are sharing the process and products of their work through Instagram and YouTube, gaining legions of admirers for their art jewels. Their highly collectible creations have already caught the expert eye of Frank Everett, Sotheby’s vice president and jewelry sales director. Everett selected one of their rings for the auction house’s “In Bloom: A Selling Exhibition of Floral Jewels” event in May 2019, and three items for the New York Magnificent Jewels sale in December of that year.
As part of efforts to bolster their presence on the US market, the designers have just announced that jewelry dealer Stephen Russell on New York’s Madison Avenue is their new representative. Here, Michael tells us more about his and David’s creative universe.
How will you be working with Stephen Russell?
We’re happy to have Stephen Russell as our new sole representative. Every piece we make will be sent to them to show in their beautiful gallery, alongside their other carefully curated collection of museum-quality jewels. Most of the inquiries we were receiving came from collectors in New York City, so Stephen Russell is the perfect home for us.
How do you and David share the process of creating your jewels?
Occasionally, we will come across a gem that captures our attention, and we’ll then think of a concept especially for it, but most often, we start with a design and then collect the gems needed to complete it. Working this way, we are free from the limitations of what gems we currently have. We think of an idea without any restrictions and then go about making it a reality. We have sketchbooks full of ideas patiently waiting their turn to be made.
David and I each have our own ideas and projects that inspire us, but we also work closely together and discuss concepts with each other, bounce ideas back and forth between us. I then put our ideas down on paper, first with a sketch and then finally a watercolor rendering.
All of our pieces are always one of a kind and handmade by either my brother or me personally. We both hand-forge, working on our own projects one at a time. I do all of our gem-setting and pavé work, and then David does all of our photography.
We work this way because we are extremely passionate about making special things. By not delegating aspects of a jewel’s creation, and by not taking any modern computer-aided shortcuts, we feel we deliver the most special and personal expressions of our original ideas possible. Nothing is lost in the translation caused by outsourcing work to multiple people or workshops.
You create only a few pieces every year. How do you decide what will be going from a drawing to reality?
We make about 10 to 15 pieces per year, not because of any self-imposed marketing ploy, but because that’s all our two sets of hands have time to make, given the complexity of our work. It’s very simple to choose which page from the sketchbook will become reality next: It’s the design that most inspires us creatively in that moment.
How do you select and source the gemstones for your pieces?
We work closely with a handful of dealers that understand we appreciate different things, so they often bring the rare and unusual directly to our attention to see if we might be interested in acquiring it. [Before Covid-19,] we also traveled to one or two of the international trade shows each year to see what we could find. Because we make only a handful of works each year, we don’t need large volumes of gems. We look for the finest examples and things that are really unique.
Does your Australian location influence your work?
We are surrounded by so much natural beauty that it really is so easy to be inspired. Even the warmth and relaxed, peaceful spaces are very inspiring because it allows for pure thoughts without too many distractions. I feel, however, that being from New Zealand will always be our biggest influence. It’s a country full of intently pure natural beauty, and its isolation forces you to be creative.
What are your other sources of inspiration?
David collects vintage watches and cars; I think that makes his interests and inspirations slightly more mechanical. I love art, which I think influences my work in a slightly more painterly way. We grew up in the ’80s, which I’m sure influences our love of color. The ’80s was such a great time for color, first with groundbreaking combinations from surf and skate clothing, and then later with the wild colors and forms found in graffiti.
Who are David Michael collectors?
These days, this is something we actually don’t know. We have chosen not to get involved in the sale of our work. This lets us focus on making beautiful pieces without getting caught up in their sale. In many ways, we work more like an artist, we create our work and then rely on a gallery to handle the business side of things.
What do you enjoy doing when you are not creating jewelry?
I paint larger canvases; the large scale makes for a nice change from jewelry work. And I also love getting out and exploring all of the beaches here, as well as the tropical rainforest areas up in the hills.
Main image: Michael (left) and David (right) Robinson, founders of David Michael.
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