Rhodium Plated Diamond Mary Pendant from Brazil, "Mary, Untier of Knots"

"When I was a teenager, my dream was to be a tattoo artist. I'd buy tattoo magazines and spend whole afternoons creating my own designs. Stimulated by my ability to draw, I decided to study visual communication as a career and I ended up as a jeweler.

"My purpose as jeweler was to treat a part of the body as a jewel, the beginning of the concept of tattoos in yellow gold. I began to use nylon threads and silicone to give lightness to my pieces, the impression that they were imprisoned in the body. Some years later, as the price of gold got higher and higher, I felt the need to create designs in a more accessible material and this was when I discovered silver. My first piece was a rose pendant that can be used both front and back and has an incredible effect. Some pieces bear stones, others color, but all follow the principle of appearing as a tattoo – an idea that I took the care to patent and register.

"I feel that recognition for my work is growing more and more, and I believe the conquest of a wider global market is an important step in my career. At the end of 2003, I was invited to participate in an exhibition on design trends in jewelry at Liberty in London – I was selected from among designers at a fashion event in Rio de Janeiro."