Under The Sea Seahorse Cufflinks

Description

It is no secret that I am somewhat addicted to guilloché. Peter Carl Fabergé came up with the brilliant idea of combining enamel with guilloché machine turned metal patterns to produce a jewel-like effect in which the metalwork is visible through the vitreous layer, without requiring actual jewels, and I am rather glad he did, because it is something I have returned to over and over again. My seahorse explores this to great effect. The rather regular geometry of the creature’s exoskeleton, is coated in a colour saturated translucent layer, contrasting structure with the merging, blending, richly aqueous envelope of enamel. Light bouncing off the metal ground produces different effects according to the depth of the layer lying over it so one green becomes many. Silver ribs and dots pop right through or sink beneath another cerulean coat, adding depth, roundness and intrigue to the form. It is simply exquisite and evokes the sense of gently swaying, undulating rhythms in the deep sea where the seahorse, that most elegant of marine animals drifts serenely.