Gemstone Earrings
Surrounded by art as a child - her grandmother has a museum-quality collection featuring: Picasso, Klee, George Braque and Hans Hoffman - Annie Hammer found her niche in her 30s as a jewelry designer. She moved from costume pieces to fine hammered metal and semiprecious stones, which are her signature today. For her, it's a simple inborn way of looking at the world. "I envision things in sculptural form and then make it into jewelry," she says. Hammer creates her bold focus pieces in a small studio strewn with stones and pearls.
Lapis and Turquoise Chain Earrings
These earrings use gold filled chains and Swarovski crystals to create a gorgeous Egyptian-inspired design. A textured gold hoop pops with turquoise and lapis crystals, while chains of gold and turquoise swing below.
• Stone: Lapis and turquoise Swarovski crystals
• Length: 3 1/4 inches
• Metal: Gold filled
$100
Pink Sapphire and Silver Hoops
These gemstone and silver hoops feature lavender shades in a feminine frame. A silver chain hung with pink sapphire and rose quartz adorns a tear-shaped silver hoop.
• Stones: Pink sapphire, rose quartz
• Metal: Oxidized silver
• Length: 3 inches
$300
Kyanite and Smoky Quartz Earrings
Gold-fill wire chains suspend a pyramid of smoky quartz rondells inside of a half-hoop, wired with more of the same stones. The gray stones frame a striking sea-green kyanite briolette.
• Stone: Smoky quartz, kyanite
• Length: 2 1/4 inches
• Metal: Gold-fill
$213
See more ANNIE HAMMER JEWELRY at maxandchloe.com.
Hammer began her foray into the art world with a year of study at Chicago's Art Institute followed by a stint as a Windy City jeweler's apprentice. Exchanging the big city for the desert, Hammer moved to Tucson, Arizona, where she earned a degree in Graphic Design from The University of Arizona. A position as a graphic designer at the city's local ABC television affiliate gave her a taste of the commercial world and the desire to do something in a more purely artistic vein.
