Suiseki

Suiseki is the Japanese art of appreciating naturally formed stones whose shape, surface, color, texture, and patina evoke landscapes, objects, animals, or scenes from nature. Through the contemplation of a single stone, practitioners cultivate a deeper awareness of and connection to the natural world, perceiving within it a microcosm of nature's vastness. What may appear to be a simple stone becomes a gateway to imagination and reflection, revealing mountains, rivers, islands, and entire worlds shaped solely by nature.

Something that is central to Smith & Sun is that entire collections are evoked by a scent, an idea, a poem, the natural world. From there, I explore these through different mediums. My work with metal, my craft as a jeweller, begins to work in tandem with other practices. 

In line with this, I began making silver Cynosure bracelets. These riff off the idea of ID bracelets, historically used to store medical information or gifted as an engraved momento. In my interpretation, I have marked these with words from a book I made, Abstract Interpretations, which collected over 8 years words from different languages which stirred or captured something previously indescribable, not always translatable. Engraved into the bracelet, these words capture a moment, a feeling, a memory, an intent. Which one you chose, may take on a weight of its own, becoming deeply personal. 

As always with Smith & Sun, I love to use recycled materials and so, the chains used in this collection were either sourced through an old man with a metal detector or snapped up from various antique markets I found myself at. The rest was made by me to compliment, what already exists in the world. All sterling silver, all entirely unique.  

Weight: 57 g

Circumference: 19.5 cm