DESIGN OVERVIEW
Dog Rose Locket Necklace – Handmade and Kinetic
Handmade in sterling silver
18ct rose gold
Flower measures approx 12 x 20mm in the closed position
The locket comes on a continuous 30″ sterling silver chain
© Victoria Walker
JEWELRY DESIGNER
Victoria Walker grew up in Cumbria and moved to Cornwall in 2002. After originally studying Fine Art and Illustration, she fell in love with jewelry making and graduated with a first BA (Hons) degree in Jewellery & Silversmithing at Truro College in 2009. During the course, she won the Goldsmiths’ Company Precious Metal Bursary award for her designs.
Specializing in fine, kinetic jewelry, Victoria’s work is inspired by the beauty of natural forms; her signature botanical lockets feature miniature articulated flowers that gently emerge and unfold from within. These moving designs are inspired by the sentimental nature of lockets, in that sometimes the most precious and treasured elements are hidden beneath the surface. Using traditional techniques with precious metals and diamonds, every tiny petal is hand-formed and precisely engineered to create these beautiful impressions of the natural world.
Victoria works full time from her workshop in Princes House, a beautiful Georgian mansion house in the heart of Truro, Cornwall, UK.
HOW TO WEAR IT
Unlike traditional cut roses, carefully grown for perfection for bouquets, these sweet, innocent-looking roses can be found adorning hedgerows and woodlands, growing tall and freely in the wild. Native to Europe, northwest Africa, and western Asia, the Dog Rose is also celebrated as the national flower of Romania. In this detailed tribute to this beautiful wild rose, five hand-formed petals arch around a cluster of tiny gold stamen, surrounding a sparkly central diamond. As the locket stem is pushed up, the petals emerge and unfold from within their contoured silver ‘sepal’ casing. To complete the piece, a typical group of five leaves hangs delicately beside the locket.
In the 19th century, Dog Roses were gifted as a top prize during the ‘Academy of Floral Games’ to award the best love poem.
This particular locket made by Victoria Walker is the perfect symbol to represent the aspirations of a writer or love in a metal poem to a loved one on any given day. With its beautiful craftsmanship and heirloom qualities, this is a piece to be passed down through generations.
ADDED VALUE
Kinetic can simply mean \”animated,\” \”dynamic,\” or \”lively,\” but it also has more specific meanings in the realms of art and science. Kinetic drawings, sculptures, and installations have moving parts. Fine kinetic jewelry pieces are where Victoria Walker has specialized as a jeweler, inspired by the beauty of natural forms, her signature is botanical lockets featuring miniature articulated flowers that gently emerge and unfold from within.
These moving designs are inspired by the sentimental nature of lockets. Lockets hold the most precious and treasured elements beneath their surface: Memories.
Memories are the hidden meanings are that bring true value to all sentimental treasures and Victoria Walker captures it all in her delicate designs; traditional techniques with precious metals and diamonds, every tiny petal is hand formed and precisely engineered to create these beautiful impressions of the natural world, for remembering what you’ve done and what you’ve seen, our tenderness protected by metal flowers.