Jasmine Watson is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

jeweller.

Education

Watson completed a Diploma in Jewellery design at

Unitec Auckland Unitec Institute of Technology (Māori language, Māori: Te Whare Wānanga o Wairaka) is the largest institute of technology in Auckland, New Zealand. 16,844 students study programmes from certificate to postgraduate degree level (levels 1 to 9) a ...

in 1995, studying under jeweller

Pauline Bern Pauline Bern (born 1952) is a New Zealand jeweller. Early life Bern was born in Auckland in 1952. Career Bern is a self-taught jeweller who began making jewellery while living in the United States in the 1970s. She has exhibited consistently in ...

and glass artist Elizabeth McClure.

Work

Watson's work is intricate and ornate, drawing on motifs from nature and symmetrical

mandala A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...

forms. She is known for her use of Champlevé enamelling, and has won several prestigious awards, including the 'President Award' at the 44th International Exhibition of the Japan Enamelling Artist Association held at the Ueno Royal Museum,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, in 2011; and an 'Award for Excellence' at the 24th International Cloisonné Jewellery Contest, Tokyo. Watson is also known for her work designing jewellery for film and television, including

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. It is the first published and best known of seven novels in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956). Among all the ...

and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Although the titular ring for the latter films was made by Danish-born Nelson jeweller Jens Hansen, Watson created many other iconic pieces including the Evenstar pendant worn by Arwen. Watson is associated with the Workshop 6 collective of contemporary jewellers, based in

Kingsland, Auckland Kingsland is an inner-city suburb of Auckland, the largest and most populous urban area in New Zealand. Kingsland is under the local governance of the Auckland Council. It is the home of Eden Park, New Zealand's largest stadium, which hosted the ...

. Jewellers previously affiliated with this group include Octavia Cook, Areta Wilkinson,

Jane Dodd Jane Dodd (born 1962) is a New Zealand musician and contemporary jeweller. From 1982 to 1984 she studied for a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Otago, majoring in Phenomenology of Religion with additional papers in Anthropology, History, Ar ...

, and

Lisa Walker Lisa Walker (born 1967) is a contemporary New Zealand jeweller. Education and training in New Zealand Born in Wellington in 1967, Walker graduated from Otago Polytechnic, Dunedin, in 1988 with a Certificate in Craft Design. In Dunedin her tu ...

Collections

Watson's work is held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Jasmine 1978 births New Zealand jewellers Living people People from Auckland Unitec Institute of Technology alumni Women jewellers