Legends of stone, as told by Anna White

A wizardess speaking to the stones and looking deep into their ancient mysteries.

A proud Russian beauty, with her piercing gaze and magnificent cascade of long, blond hair.

Anna White was born with a desire to create. As a child, she was always busy building and constructing, inventing and experimenting. She was born at that time in Russia when consumer culture was not yet a thing, you could not simply stop by the shop and find whatever your soul desired. Consequently (or genetically), she took her creative spirit from her father who was a master of invention, always coming up with genius ideas, little, daily masterpieces, derived from thin air.

Later in life, when Anna started buying and receiving gems as gifts, her search for an outlet for her creativity brought Anna to the realm of jewelry, where she found a way to live, breath, materialize and nurture her artistic offspring.

The way Anna works with stones is uncanny. Her instinct towards choosing the right stone is primal and profound: not only does she see, she also senses them. As I was listening to the tone of her voice, watching her facial expressions, it occurred to me that it is not mere admiration for stones as crude material for her creations, it is a fundamental understanding and respect towards them!

Empowering precious and semiprecious gems through her designs, she endows them with a frame of oxidized silver or gold. It’s a peculiar environment for the stones, and for people to comprehend and to wear them. The patina, created through oxidation (a kind of accelerated version of the natural tarnishing process), gives the metal an intentionally darkened, aged look. Thus, excessive luster, characteristic of polished metals, does not interfere with the natural beauty of the stones.

Anna’s approach to jewelry design is not overwhelmed by design itself. For her, the art of jewelry is an instrument for bringing the stones into our world. It is intriguing and refreshing how she does not obsess over big or extravagant gems, but rather contemplates and exposes the character of each stone, its magnetism, the secret microcosm and the ancient myths behind its facets.

In their powerful and beautiful relationship, Anna and the stones act as each other’s integral parts and harmonious continuation.

The enigmatic, primeval minerals come alive in the hands of this miracle worker, with her eagle eye for the beauty and her ear for the fairy tales told by each and every carefully selected and cherished gemstone.

They will talk to you too, snugly settled on your ears and neck, wrists and fingers.