Alberian and Aulde was created by two fine artists, Warren Alberian and Mary Aulde, who met while earning their degrees in New York City at The Cooper Union School of Art. Upon completion of their studies, they went their separate ways.
Some years later, on an extended stay in India, Warren made the acquaintance of a jeweler to royal families. As a consequence, he was given a rare opportunity to view antiquities from some of their collections. Among the treasures were a group of wafer-thin rose cut diamonds, which captured his attention. Unlike flashier cuts, the rose cut seemed so uncontrived and authentic, allowing light to play spontaneously with expressive nuance. Their unique character inspired him to believe that they could act as a medium for refined sculptural art in the form of jewelry.
This creative endeavor immediately brought Mary to mind, who was living in Europe at the time. Her innovative and intimately scaled art sensibility seemed perfectly suited to collaboration on this venture. Before accepting the invitation to join him there, she prepared herself by intensively training at the Sir John Cass School of Art in London Metropolitan University.
When starting out, months would be spent in India each year searching the gem cutting centre of Jaipur and Surat to procure gemstones, especially diamond rose cuts. Their activity would shift to New Delhi, where designs would be fabricated into finished jewelry. While the artisans were skilled in setting gemstones completely unfamiliar in the West, there was no way to convey instructions to achieve the subtlety the pair wished to create.
Once in the studio in NYC, they could develop methods to work with the rose cuts to control their effect incorporated into jewelry. Innovation would come in different forms over time and through exploration. The introduction of vitreous glass enamel on organically textured gold with the champleve technique imbued the work with luminous color, transmitting through the rose cut diamonds themselves. Combining gems in unconventional ways has led to fascinating results as in the Intrigue Collection where overlapping rose cuts have a mysterious aura.
Together, they have developed an aesthetic which infuses gemstones within settings, contoured explicitly to the human form so that the jewelry melds seamlessly with the wearer. Understatement reigns, as does innovation, versatility, and comfort. Each design is meticulously scaled and proportioned, many in a range of sizes to insure a perfect fit. All of their work draws the eye to the real focal point, the woman who wears it.
They provide clients with opportunities to intermix and layer jewelry, awakening one’s inner creativity. This vision creates works of art which do not rely on convention to be classic.
