Alexander van den Hoven

Goldsmith

©Peter Drent

Wearable fine art

Alexander discovered his craft in secondary school
He won the National Diamond Competition in 1983
Sharing his knowledge is vital to his practice

It was during a crafts class in high school that Alexander van den Hoven was introduced to a jewellery-making career. He soon realised he had a natural talent for producing jewellery when he turned small copper coins and rings into pendants by enamelling them. The enterprising 14-year-old started to sell his pieces. Today, as master goldsmith, he works with precision and a design sense garnered during his studies at the art academy. Inspired by the way branches diverge in trees or the arrangement of leaves in a flower, Alexander gives life to the unexpected, allowing chance into his designs, which results in colourful jewellery that surprises.

Interview

©Peter Drent

©Peter Drent

How would you define what you do?: I make small sculptures. Each design is a piece of fine art executed in gold or platinum. I turn memories into something tangible, shiny, sparkly, something that might be excavated in a thousand years and treasured for posterity.
What is something about goldsmithing that people don’t normally know?: A ring is made from a strip of gold by bending and hammering, then soldering, acidifying, rinsing, filing, sanding, and polishing. Until the polishing phase, it looks like a piece of black brass and only magical polishing transforms it into a shiny golden ring.
Can you name a memorable moment from your career so far?: When I won First Prize at the National Diamond Competition, organised by De Beers. It generated a lot of publicity and kickstarted my professional career. People approached me to design jewellery for them and I opened my shop as a result.
Do you have specific design goals for the future?: I hope to still be working as a goldsmith-designer in 10 years’ time. I also hope that I will have been able to pass on a lot of my knowledge to the younger goldsmiths at the Dutch Guild of Goldsmiths.

Alexander van den Hoven is a master artisan: he began his career in 1974 and he started teaching in 1985