With conventionally unwearable materials, uniquely textured designs and refined details, I wish to evoke a subtle sense of luxury, a fresh perspective on jewellery design. Minimalist yet sculptural and contemporary, I cultivate aesthetic with little adornment or embellishment, which parts ways with any typical visual motifs associated with jewellery. Still, with a deliberately simplistic design statement, I remain embedded in unique jewellery making techniques, epitomising material restraint and craftsmanship. Created with Earth’s rarest materials and a burning passion for quality, my handmade jewels reflect my pursuit of raw, spontaneous beauty as well as commitment to sustainability.
Born in Lithuania, educated in five different countries, and having crafted jewellery for more than ten years now, my life journey is anything but conventional. From studying at Hiko Mizuno College of jewellery in Tokyo and Munich Academy of Arts to my venture working at an artisanal goldsmithing workshop in Florence, I have transformed herself into a versatility in the jewellery sphere. My extensive travels and experiences have grown into a distinctive nature for seeing things with perky eyes, as I presume to touch upon multiple contexts and references at the same time. I hope to celebrate artistry as a medium to transcend societal, cultural, and geographical boundaries, using design to bridge Japanese and European discourses and influences within the creative sphere.
I explored a variety of jewellery making techniques, searching for existing boundaries in order to exceed them. I feel moved by that sense of discovery. When experimenting with new materials I usually have a vague idea of the result and a defined understanding of my route and orientation, but the outcome is always unexpected. My unique craft centres on a reverence of unconventional materials, including metals such as hafnium, niobium, tantalum, pure gold and platinum as well as precious rough “Muzo” emeralds, colourful diamonds, tanzanites and other collectible gemstones. Because refractory metals are very specific materials, I had to understand the technical constraints of working with them, especially when also using precious, often brittle minerals. I consider the technical factor an important element in my compositions, which originated directly out of the issue of handcrafting these incredibly tough metals. On the one hand, this was initially my main limitation, but, on the other hand, it met exactly the aesthetic I strived for in my artwork. My aim is to approach various technical challenges in an empiricist way, linking them to my own perception and from a neutral view. I embrace the fascinating journey of creativity under constraints. Eventually, I discovered an innovative way of processing the rare refractory metals and created my signature design language.
I started ASR Jewels in 2012, while still as a student at Vilnius Academy of Arts. I named my studio simply by my initials [A. S. R.], which I pictorially defined in a peculiar symbol. I wish my sophisticated and minimalist pieces would toe the line between design and art. I developed my singularity in quite a bold, yet harmonious style with fluid connection between tribal and modern jewellery as well as ancient Japanese aesthetic principles. I managed to achieve earthy tones and surfaces that feel exquisite to both the touch and eye, reflecting my appreciation of patina and unbounded tactility of nature. This mood could also be said to emerge from the familiarity of the natural wilderness of my homeland, to where after my extensive travels I decided to return and where now my design sensibility thrives.
