Dolly Boucoyannis

Jewellery maker

©Hristiana Halkiopoulou

Beneath the shiny surface

Dolly makes personalised jewellery and objects
She creates a balance between shapes and colours
She tries to illustrate what lies behind a jewel

Dolly Boucoyannis was always attracted to jewellery’s small-scale sculptural and decorative qualities. She studied jewellery making in the United Kingdom and gemmology in the United States, and then gained valuable experience with craftsman Lefteris Vergidis in Athens. Opening her first workshop in Florence in 1984, she collaborated with Florentine jewellery master Dino Bernardoni, before returning to Athens five years later. Using techniques like filigree, bezel-setting, loop-in-loop chain-making and granulation, you will find Dolly reviving old pieces or creating new ones inspired by nature, antiquity and history, alongside her dear apprentice Stratos Pavleas. She ‘fuses’ brass, copper, steel, silver and gold with glass, marble, pearls and diamonds to make dazzling jewellery.

Interview

©Hristiana Halkiopoulou

©Hristiana Halkiopoulou

When did you decide to be a jewellery maker?: I was 14 years old. I was walking on a street with many sycamore trees when I picked a leaf that wasn’t totally dry yet; I made the stem go round my wrist and pierce the leaf, so it became a bracelet.
What is a special memory from your career?: I worked at a workshop after graduation. The owner was kind but praised no one. One day, I made a 22k chain for an order of earrings. I made it longer, so he kept the remaining piece in his drawer. Months later, he showed me the piece without remembering I’d made it and said “This is proof of good craftsmanship.”
How would you describe what you do?: Clients find it hard to believe I not only sell but also make the jewellery. What I do echoes the mentality of an old-fashioned jewellery maker. Through my designs, I express my love for the materials, while trying to make the person who will wear the jewellery happy.
What’s an interesting part of your work?: Showing people what is hidden behind a jewel; the craftsmanship, the metals, the sources of inspiration. Most will focus on the item’s preciousness, but I talk about its history, its aesthetic and craftsmanship qualities.

Dolly Boucoyannis is a master artisan: she began her career in 1977 and she started teaching in 1994