Stefanie Prießnitz at the Goldschmiedehaus

Since 2013, Hanau has been organizing the annual Hanau Jewelry Market under the title Glanzstücke [Splendor pieces]. Works by last year’s jewelry award winner Stefanie Prießnitz will now be shown in a solo exhibition at the Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus Hanau from March 12 to April 4, 2024. The jewelry artist, who works in Pforzheim, impressed the jury – Susanne Högner, Daniel Ramos and Dr. Christianne Weber-Stöber – with her versatile interpretations of the classic pearl necklace and the unusual combination of pearl and metal.

Stefanie Prießnitz‘s jewelry work is characterized by conceptual series. Within her collections, the repetition of forms, techniques and materials in different combinations constantly creates new variations.

Stefanie Prießnitz’s Perlreihen [Pearl Series] are contemporary pearl necklaces. By combining pearls with white or blackened silver elements, she creates open spaces that break up the compact image.

The necklaces in the Aufgereiht [Lined up] collection consist of round-cut gemstones, which are threaded into a silver construction to form a larger decorative element and also form the course of the necklace. Photo Peter Hölzle.

The silver structures of the Aufgereiht [Lined up] series are not filled with stone beads for the Umwickelt necklace, but are wrapped in textile threads. The resulting ornaments are reminiscent of stars. Photo Peter Hölzle.

The Perlseidenketten [Pearl Silk Necklaces] grew out of a preoccupation with textiles. Here the beads are spun around a soft thread to line them up. The impression is determined by the regularity of the thread. © Stefanie Prießnitz

Stefanie Prießnitz trained as a goldsmith at the Pforzheim Goldsmith School from 1991 to 1995. She went on to study at the Hochschule für Gestaltung, Pforzheim, and Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, USA, until 2000, where she expanded her creative repertoire. She initially worked as a product designer, became a freelance jewelry designer in 2004 and opened her workshop studio in Pforzheim in 2008.