CGD

“I disrupted the classical concept of a ring with a single gem in the middle in favor of creating an object that slithers up the finger, wraps around it and inches towards the wrist. It touches you in places which you would not traditionally expect from a piece of jewelry,” says Markéta Kratochvílová in a 2019 interview for PročNe magazine. Even seven years later, she remains faithful to this philosophy and is among the most daring designers working on the Czech jewelry design scene.

Kratochvílová is a graduate of UMPRUM’s K.O.V. studio where she studied with Eva Eisler, and she holds the Czech Grand Design Award titles of Discovery of the Year 2014 and Jewelry Designer of the Year 2016. Her Chimera and Chloris collections consist of hand-modeled “one-of-a-kind” rings that seem to grow from the body of their wearer. She started out by sculpting mythical animals in wax forms – snakes, dragons and dolphins cast from silver holding precious gems in their talons, such as amethysts, olivines, opals, rubies, precious yellow sapphires and moon rocks. The Chloris collection then celebrates legendary flora, such as fairy-tale brackens.

Kratochvílová’s work develops the form of ‘cocktail rings’ that were popular during the era of American prohibition. In the 1920s, so-called ‘flapper girls’ symbolized a new type of woman – they wore their hair short, didn’t need to have a male chaperone, were open about their sexuality and were more than willing to confidently order a drink at the bar. But to get the barkeep’s attention, a flapper girl needed a big gem on her finger.

The Chimera and Chloris collections celebrate the beauty of cabochon stones which are unfaceted but rather shaped and polished. “Before various fashionable faceting styles became the norm, gems were worn as cabochon stones. Perfectly imperfect, they were closer to their natural form,” explains the designer on her Instagram. Instead of flapper girls, her rings are today worn by global trendsetters such as Canadian musician Grimes or rapper Megan Thee Stallion. “These aren’t just rings, they are parts of crowns worn by kings wrapped around your finger.”

The Czech Grand Design Awards jury appreciates the designer’s courage to constantly transgress the aesthetic and functional qualities of jewelry. Kratochvílová has a perfect understanding of her craft and is able to tame her artistic self-expression into a wearable object. She moves beyond traditional small-form gold- and silversmithing, and her signature features make even her collection of stud earrings for everyday wear instantly recognizable.

In the novel Chyba (Mistake) by Marek Šindelka, a flower smuggler brings from Japan to Europe a live specimen of an officially long-extinct parasitic species – the ink orchid. Aristocrats would have the plant grow into their bodies and then show it off as an extravagant accessory. Martina Kratochvílová’s jewelry is similarly decadent and intoxicatingly attractive. Give in and let it grow on you.

Thea Prokop