Paula Crevoshay – Creating Palettes of Light and Color

Artistic designer extraordinaire, Paula Crevoshay is one of the most acclaimed jewelers in today’s universe of fine jewelry. Her innovative use of colorful gemstones in original, one-of-a-kind creations has earned her the admiration of jewelry connoisseurs and collectors the world over, along with the affectionate—and apt—title as the “Queen of Color.”

By Cynthia Unninayar

Paula Crevoshay during her undergraduate years at VCU, in Richmond, Virginia from 1972 to 1976.

India has been an important source of inspiration for Paula’s work. Here is one of her early visits to the famed Taj Mahal.

Paula during a visit to Ganden Shartse Monastery in Mundagod, Karnataka, India, seated next to French Tibetan Nun Ani Chamba.

A selection of some of the early jewels created by Paula Crevoshay.

Crafted from moonstone, opal, spinel, fuchsia and lavender sapphire, "La Fleur de Rêves" brooch took over a year to make.

Aficionados of fine jewelry are not the only ones to appreciate the colorful jewels of Paula Crevoshay. Her work has garnered more than 25 prestigious national and international awards and is featured in special exhibitions in the USA, Europe and Asia.
    A number of her exquisite pieces are also on permanent display in such notable museums as the Carnegie Museum, GIA Carlsbad, GIA New York, Smithsonian Institution, British Council for the Arts (India), Gwinnett Art Museum and Yale Peabody Museum among others. She is also in demand as a speaker at countless events around the world.
    Her journey into the world of jewelry is as fascinating as the jewels themselves. Paula was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and was “raised all over the southeastern USA,” she reminisces. Recognition of her artistic talents began at an early age, and continued through college, namely Virginia Commonwealth University, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with Honors in 1976. 
   Then, on a full scholarship, she earned her Masters Degree in Fine Arts, also with Honors, in 1977, at the University of Wisconsin.
    After graduation, she intended to go to New York to launch her career as a painter, but fate intervened when a fellow student, George Crevoshay, asked her to marry him. George had been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and an American Institute of Indian Studies grant to work on his Ph.D in India, so off the couple went to live in a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery in Pune, Maharashtra, near Bombay for four years.
    Paula kept busy, studying classical Indian dance, holding one-woman shows of her paintings in Bombay and Pune, working as an actress in Bollywood, and even creating a dispensary for nutrition and medical attention in the monastery. It wasn’t long, however, before the world of jewelry began calling her.
    “When I went to India I had no idea how colorful, how beautiful, how fascinating, how steeped in the jewelry arts that India is. The nation has incredible gifts of ancient metal techniques, finesse in the artistry, and the exquisite nature of opulence itself,” she enthuses.
    After returning to the USA, George found jobs in his field to be in short supply. His language skills, however, put him in demand to help source gemstones in Southeast Asia. Using their little nest egg, the couple also invested in gems and quickly sold out their small inventory.
    They then traveled to Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, and Nepal to source gems for themselves and others. “While my first trip to India and Southeast Asia lasted from 1978 to 1981, many other travels continued over the years. In all, I spent approximately 15 years of my life in Asia and feel quite at home there,” she says.
    George opened many doors in the gem world within his first two years in the business. “With his innate sense of seeing the stone within the rough and his fluency in Asian languages as well as an incredible sense of humor in all cultures, the world became our oyster,” she smiles. The pair continued to build inventory and Paula decided to create jewelry using some of the gems.

Paula with a baby elephant in the early days in India.

    In 1983, she launched her first collection, creating one-of-a-kind pieces, with the goal of “returning jewelry to its original place among the finest of the fine arts, of elevating the role of the jewelry designer from an anonymous function to that of a fine artist.”
    “My first collection was small, but focused and filled with inspirations from my travels in Southeast Asia,” she recollects. With intuition to guide her, she found a talented manufacturer in Bangkok. “They became my Thai family and are among the best craftsmen in the world,” she declares.
    Many years later, her intuitive abilities led her to find a second master workshop in Hong Kong when she needed to expand production. “Call it destiny, call it intuition or call it just plain luck, I have had this type of good fortune all my life especially around my artistic work,” she affirms.
    While fortune may certainly play a role, there is no question that this gifted artist draws on her fine-arts background. “There was a time when jewelry was among the finest of the fine arts. Witness the letter Michelangelo sent to a friend complaining about his troubles working on the Sistine Chapel: ‘I’m a jeweler, not a painter.’ Like Michelangelo, I was formally trained in the fine-art disciplines. But unlike Michelangelo, I am a painter, not a jeweler,” she insists. Her palette is not oil but gemstones.
    This nearly limitless palette entails “geography, geology, mineralogy and the physics of light,” she muses, adding, “I paint with gemstones, not just with their myriad colors, but with their light. Each gemstone has its own ability to transmit light. It’s a quality of light inherent in that particular mineral. I call it ‘tangible light.’ It is truly the light of the Earth.”
    It was only fitting then, that a selection of Paula’s work was featured in a special exhibition in the City of Light, at the Musée de Minéralogie at the Paris School of Mines. Coinciding with this event, she published her second book, Illuminations: Earth to Jewel, where the designer takes the reader on a tour of the magnificent gemstones that serve as her palette in creating her exceptional jewels.
    Paula plays not only with color but also with the types of gem cuts—carvings, cabochons, facets—as she thoughtfully and scientifically assesses how light is transmitted, reflected or refracted in her lively butterflies, fish, flowers and other fanciful creations.
    “There is no greater inspiration found in art than Mother Nature,” adding that she learns all the details about the flower, the animal or the insect before she proceeds. She is also acutely aware of bringing attention to some of the world’s endangered species as seen in a variety of her bejeweled creations.
    When asked about her design process, whether the stone or the idea comes first, Paula quickly answers, “The stone comes first 99.9% of the time. I take the center stone and map out its size and shape. I hold it in my hand and things begin to flow from there. She also looks for “gemological clues” in the stone. She might incorporate hexagons in a design that features a beryl, for example, to acknowledge its crystalline structure. Or, she may use a water motif with a hydrous silicate like opal. “The artist today must understand and apply the underlying science.”
    Included in the underlying science that she relies on are gemological elements such as refractive index and Mohs’ scale, which help the artist make choices when it comes to which stones to incorporate into her designs. With an intimate knowledge of the gems, she can also make substitutions in order to reach a better price for the client.
    Her favorite gem? She loves all stones, but Paula admits that she has a special fondness for opal. “It’s such a colorful stone, a work of art, almost like it was painted by Monet or another impressionist.” She also appreciates tourmaline and its range of colors, as well as moonstone, sphalerite and sphene. “I’d like to set every gemstone known to man, which may be hundreds or thousands.” And perhaps she will, in light of her prolific talent.
    Her favorite design? “The one I am working on at the time,” she contemplates, adding that she is always looking for a challenge. Still, she has a few favorites, and often spends a long intimate time with each. As examples, she cites the La Fleur de Rêves brooch, which took a year to make, and the Poppy ring, which took nine months. She also insists that the back is just as important as the front, and each is equally beautiful and intricate.
    Because each design is unique, hand-selected, and handcrafted, Paula describes how she can often look at a person and get a feeling for what might appeal to her—or him. “When they try it on, it’s as if a light goes on—the jewel accentuates the beauty within. After all, adornment is an exclamation point around the beauty that is already there.”
    “Fine jewelry should invite engagement, evoke emotion, and elicit a reaction. It can be exciting and dramatic or at other times offer comfort and serenity. Today’s woman is empowered and is connected with time and culture. She can wear whatever she wants. She was born to be jeweled.”
    Enjoying an extremely successful career, the Queen of Color is not, however, resting on her laurels. She continues to explore new horizons, always challenging herself and her art. And, with more invitations for exhibitions arriving at her studio regularly, Paula Crevoshay is pleased that people are appreciating the importance of original, one-of-a-kind jewels that showcase Nature’s marvelous palette of light and color.

Paula’s remarkable jewels attracted the attention of celebrities such as Carly Simon, who not only became a good friend, but who introduced her to many other people, including Jackie Onassis.

Paula’s love of Nature and her concern for endangered animals are reflected in her Endangered collection. Shown here is the "Surus" brooch in gold with carved tagua nut tusks, decorated with rubellites, tsavorites, diamonds, Montana sapphires and a Torus Ring carved by Glenn Lehrer.

A master of fine arts, Paula is also a painter. Here she is with one of her artworks in 1982.

Paula receives her first prestigious AGTA Spectrum Award in 1984.

The cover of "Garden of Light," Paula’s first book, that accompanied her one-woman exhibition in 2013 at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The cover features “Midnight Seduction,” a brooch crafted in sapphire, zircon, diamond, coral, abalone pearl and tourmaline.

Cover of "Illuminations: Earth to Jewel," Paula’s second book, published in conjunction with her exhibition in the Musée de Minéralogie at the Paris School of Mines in 2016. The jewel, “Tradewinds,” features boulder opal and tsavorite.

Cover of the "Art of the Jewel," Paula’s third book, which accompanied her special exhibition at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in California in 2019. The jewel is "Iris’ Emblem," made with Montana Yogo sapphires, blue and yellow sapphires and tsavorite.

Paula's palette turned monochromatic in the period after the death of her husband and partner George in 1996. In his honor she created the "George Pendant" featuring a rare green zircon cabochon from Sri Lanka. "Like George himself, the gem was rare, subtle and beautiful." The jewel is now part of the Smithsonian Collection.

"River Goddess" in chrysocolla (carved by Glenn Lehrer), moonstone, diamond and opal.

"Swallowtail" butterfly in Montana sapphire, yellow sapphire, black diamond, amethyst and spinel.

"Poppy" brooch in opal, moonstone and diamond.

Paula captures the octopus "Ula" in its curvy eight-legged charm in gold set with spinel and moonstone.

"Eye of Ra" brooch in sapphire, apatite, opal and Paraiba tourmaline carved by Glenn Lehrer.

Commissioned by the Smithsonian Institution to create an original piece using Montana sapphires donated by Robert Kane, Paula created the "Conchita" brooch, which honors her mother’s love of butterflies.