Cristina Hurley Jewelry

amethyst stone, opal, blue topaz and tanzanite

Cristina Hurley

Sometimes you stumble across a person, not literally, but you happen on to them in the most wonderful ways, and find that they are charming as well as talented. That is Cristina Pabon Hurley. I met her through the internet, and have been taken in not only by her talent as a jewelry artist, but because she is such a down to earth person , that also  has this wonderful gift of designing and manufacturing jewelry. 

Many of the pieces of jewelry that I have seen, made by Cristina, have been very elegant, very timeless designs. Most can be worn with anything, and are very well made. She makes it look easy to set stones, so much so that she has tutorial videos that are popular. This ring set is one example of the elegant work that she does. The custom work that Cristina does includes pieces like the one above, it is a pendant that can be rearranged. The pieces come apart and can be re-stacked in a different order. What a clever idea!

Amethyst and Sterling Earrings-Cristine Hurley

Cristina was born in Puerto Rico and went to school there, when she graduated from High School, she took a summer course in jewelry and fell in love with it. She apprenticed with the teacher, metalsmith, Jeannette Fossas, for two years and was then accepted into the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. This is where she completed her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Jewelry in 1996.Since that time, she has worked as a bench jeweler for a large boutique in New York City, as well as her own jewelry shop in Canton, Massachusetts.
 Cristina says she had some wonderful teachers like, Louis Mueller, Martina Windels, Robin Quigley, Sondra Sherman, Noam Slshayiv, and Klaus Burgel, but she says that now she usually teaches herself new techniques. She also teaches private lessons at her home studio, that people learn of her by word of mouth or by the inernet. 

Working almost exclusively in Sterling Silver, Christina says she also likes the,higher Karat range of gold to work in, that lower Karats and white gold can be hard to work with. Cristina also prefers working with diamonds and Cubic Zircon, which is   the cubic crystalline form of zirconium dioxide (ZrO2). 

I am enamored with this pendant and the process that goes into making it. What a lovely piece of jewelry! It catches the light through the cubic zirconias and makes a rainbow of color. This is the pendant in the Mumtaz Series. It is a sterling silver, hand fabricated box, filled with over 1200 CZs, and a sterling silver handmade chain with an original Fabricated Toggle clasp. One of a kind, made in  2014 by Cristina Hurley Jewelry Design. The details on side are engraved into the silver by hand, the box is sealed and the spaces are covered with clear glass on both sides...what a wonderful piece of jewelry!

Ms Hurley's work is mainly targeted to women but she does have a line of Kenpo jewelry that men also like. The line includes earrings, cufflinks, keychains and pendants. The work is timeless and as with the Universal Pattern... it has universal   appeal. 
Her Kenpo designs come from her own journey in this martial art. She read the book, Infinite Insights Vol. 4 by Ed Parker Sr. and after reading the chapter on Universal Pattern, this line was born. 

Deconstructed Pyramid pendant-Cristina Hurley

I  found the pyramid constructions that Cristina makes are very fascinating, some of the pendants are four pointed stars, which is basically a pyramid base with the four walls laid flat... or the  four points of the star. She has translated this shape into various designs, like this necklace that is that basic shape that has been modified a bit, but you can see the basic four pointed shape. I like this design, and when you understand what was behind the design, it makes sense... and gives you a new perspective on the piece. 


Cristina's  work can be found in Galleries, at trade shows and online. Please check out her beautiful creations here and here to see what I mean about them being great! Here is a list of her pages and social media. 

             Cristina Hurley Jewelry:

            http://www.cphurley.etsy.com

 Kenpo Jewelry: http://www.cristinahurleykenpojewelry.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html
http://cristinahurley.weebly.com/

Phone: 917-825-4869

Email: cristinahurley@hotmail.com

               

 

Thanks for visiting today, please come back tomorrow for a look at Scott Schreiber Jewelry Design