Victoria Tonu

Jewellery with meaning

• Victoria uses both traditional and modern jewellery techniques
• She is a certified gemmologist
• Her creations have a minimalist, geometric style

After studying interdisciplinary art and design at Huddersfield University in the UK, Victoria Tonu continued her studies at Alchimia Contemporary Jewellery School in Florence, Italy. In 2013 she founded her jewellery brand, Vika Tonu, which encompasses a unique vision focusing on meaning, symbols and pure forms. In an attempt to capture the essence of things, her style follows the concept of simplification in art, reflected in her minimalist creations. Her inspiration comes from alchemy and anthroposophy, mythology, personal development in terms of spiritual growth and realisation, mysticism, the power of letters and sounds. She became a certified gemmologist in 2018, after graduating from the Romanian Gemmological Centre in Timisoara, Romania.

Interview

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Why did you choose the craft of jewellery making?

Compared to other disciplines I was experimenting with, it seemed the most rewarding. From the idea to the actual process of construction, which is always puzzling, jewellery making has different, quite independent stages. Putting the final creation on the body is the most powerful one.

How is your craft linked to where you work?

I am interested in territorial symbols. I perceive them as powerful marks from the past waiting to be discovered, encrypted messages wanting to be translated. Identifying, relating and including them in my work can be compared to a ritual of initiation and grounding in a certain territory.

How do tradition and innovation combine in your work?

In jewellery making, tradition is something we must keep sacred, as it implies direct human contact, thus a unique type of energy and reciprocity. To keep up with progress, I started integrating both traditional and modern techniques in my creations as a symbiosis between old and new, and a form of respect.

How do you define what you do?

I transpose ideas into tangible experiences. I translate everything into a universal language. I give life to solid metal and create a numinous connection with the people that are going to become part of me. I become part of them, too.

Victoria Tonu is an expert artisan she began her career in 2013

Works

©Catalin Savin

©Catalin Savin

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©All rights reserved

©All rights reserved

Where