Exhibitions

The first association with traditional jewellery making is usually the setting of precious or semi-precious stones into predetermined forms such as rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, or brooches, where the stone assumes a secondary role within a metal framework. For fashion and jewellery designer Ida Stipčić Jakšić, however, such an approach holds little interest. At the core of her creative process stands the semi-precious stone itself, while the noble metal—most often silver—serves only as a subtle companion that frames and enhances its inherent qualities.

What captivates Ida are the stone’s colour, texture, structure, and the way it responds to light. Her jewellery is recognisable for its impressive scale and expressive presence. Through enlarged dimensions, she allows the individuality of each stone to emerge, making it the guiding principle in the design of every piece. Yet her fascination extends beyond the stone’s visual appeal and physical characteristics. She is equally drawn to its energetic properties, its reputed healing qualities, and its potential to influence the well-being of the wearer. For this reason, each piece of jewellery is accompanied by carefully prepared notes describing the characteristics of the stone, its traditional associations with zodiac signs, and its connections to particular parts of the body. Nevertheless, Ida herself emphasises that intuition remains the most important factor in selecting a stone; the immediate attraction felt by its future owner is often more significant than any predefined symbolism.

Significantly, Ida’s engagement with stone did not begin with jewellery design. Long before dedicating herself to jewellery, she incorporated stone into her fashion creations, designing garments for both women and men. More broadly, her relationship with materials has always been both experimental and deeply intuitive. Beyond conventional textiles, her work has incorporated fishing nets, aluminium foil, silicone, wild broom, sage, lavender, and numerous other unconventional materials. Her artistic language resists categorisation within transient fashion trends. Instead, her choice of materials arises from a profound sense of familiarity and a personal recognition of their expressive potential.

The common thread linking these diverse materials is the Mediterranean environment—the island landscape, the cultural history of Brač and Split, and the rhythms of everyday life shaped by the sea. Just as she once selected pebbles from the shoreline to adorn garments, today she transforms Brač calcite into imaginative jewellery. Among her preferred stones is blue coral, whose colour recalls the denim fabric that frequently appeared in her fashion collections. She also works with pink rhodochrosite, the iridescent labradorite, Dalmatian jasper found in distant Mexico, and many other stones. In her workshop, the local and the exotic coexist on equal terms, united through artistic interpretation.

Throughout the diverse body of work of Ida Stipčić Jakšić, one can identify recurring themes such as experimentation, the appreciation of nature and tradition, and a fascination with the overlooked details of everyday life. These complex foundations of her artistic identity continually evolve and expand, yet they never dominate her work in a declarative or literal manner.

Returning to jewellery—the field to which she has devoted much of her recent creative energy—it is important to recognise the sculptural principles underlying her approach to form. These are evident in the balanced relationship between stone and silver, as well as in the careful consideration of the object as a three-dimensional body. Most often, her forms adopt organic and irregular shapes, though at times they transform into more defined, almost geometric structures. Her treatment of silver is equally varied: sometimes polished to a mirror-like sheen, sometimes flowing around the stone with calligraphic freedom, and at other times echoing the stone’s own organic character.

For millennia, jewellery has served as a means of adornment, a marker of celebration, and a way of embracing the symbolic and mystical qualities attributed to stone. All of these aspects are present in Ida’s creations. Yet another distinctive feature lies in her decision not to conceal the veins, inclusions, and natural irregularities found within the stones she selects. Perhaps these should not be called imperfections at all. Much like the people who wear her jewellery, these subtle variations reveal character and individuality, affirming the uniqueness of both the object and its owner.

The originality of Ida’s jewellery is further expressed through its adaptability. Many pieces can be transformed according to the wearer’s mood or needs: sections of a necklace may become a bracelet, lengths can be adjusted, and forms can be reconfigured. Fashion and design are by nature ephemeral and constantly changing, yet they can also achieve permanence when craftsmanship, creative vision, and the spirit of their time converge. They reflect the character of their creator while simultaneously becoming an expression of the identity of the wearer. These principles are fully realised in the jewellery of Ida Stipčić Jakšić—works that are at once elegant and extravagant, timeless and unmistakably individual.

Barbara Vujanović, Art Historian