“Silversmithing is my art and my craft, and creating distinctive pieces of art is my life’s work. I have 43 years of experience in jewelry design working with precious metals and gemstones to create works of wearable art.

The basic task of silversmithing is to take a flat piece of metal and work it until it is round, oval, or irregular in shape, using simple hand tools. I use cold-working techniques such as raising, forging, and planishing. (This differs from blacksmithing, which is working metal that is red-hot.)

After shaping each piece, I add texture by flame fusing or forging the surface to give each element a unique signature. Precious metal and gemstone embellishments complete the design.” - Greg Villalobos