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| July/August 2004 |
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Michael Alexander combines his head for business with raw design talent to create jewelry that is dramatic, clean, and one-of-a-kind. By Marlene A. Prost
Ten years ago, Michael Alexander was an ambitious stockbroker and financial consultant on Wall Street. Today, he is a free-thinking jewelry designer — and the winner of Colored Stone's online Reader's Choice competition for favorite designer. "It's a fluke how it ended up," says Alexander, 37, who manages Michael Alexander Inc. in midtown Manhattan, a few dozen blocks north of his former Wall Street stomping grounds. With a staff of only three full-timers, he designs all of his own jewelry, makes his own models, and usually answers his own telephone.
A native of Long Island, Alexander studied business at New Jersey's Fairleigh Dickinson University and graduated with an accounting degree. He worked on Wall Street for a few years, then moved to the island of St. John in the Caribbean with hopes of being a financial consultant there. He knew nothing about jewelry at the time — but he did know good business. So when a friend was having trouble making a go of her retail jewelry business on St. Thomas, Alexander suggested that she try selling something other than "generic, four-prong" jewelry. "The woman was just competing on price. I told her, if the product is different, you don't have to compete on price. . . . I thought [she should sell] something bolder, more dramatic, using larger stones. I thought it would make sense as a business, not even the aesthetic. It was a Wall Street analysis: Do something unusual and stand out." To prove his point, Alexander drew a picture of a silver bracelet —
"I think it was lapis," he says. His friend had it designed,
and it quickly sold. "This is before I knew anything about [jewelry
making]. It kind of opened a door. . . . I started designing more."
"At that age, I didn't want a full art degree. I wanted to create the vision I have — to draw the picture and create the metal. I learned basic skills. I wanted to create the vision in my head." Within months, Alexander was selling his work at arts and crafts shows. Alexander's vision — large-sized stones and very contemporary, clean lines — stood out immediately. "I design each piece based upon a challenge," Alexander says. That challenge often comes from the gemstone. "How do you set a 20-carat stone and make it interesting? How do you use larger stones and create a piece?" His unique vision has attracted many buyers, who praise his sense of style. "Michael's work stands out for its elegance and simplicity," commented one Reader's Choice voter. "Clean lines and stones of rare beauty are the hallmarks of his pieces." As his career has grown, so has the size of the gems in his inventory. "Originally, I was using lower-end [stones]; I had $100 in my pocket and I had to make a ring. Now, after eight years, it's a different price range." A typical Alexander design is a single center stone and diamonds on the side, with a price point of $3,000 to $10,000. He especially likes working with every color of tourmaline, garnets, and "all of the beryls." Because of his unusual background, Alexander does not draw on the typical artistic or jewelry influences. His influence, if anything, is his urban environment.
"The fact I know nothing [about jewelry making] is the most important influence on my jewelry. . . . I've isolated myself from [the usual] influences. My influences are structural items, anything that has structures. I rarely do anything organic. I don't look at a tree or flower. It's hard to generalize, but it could be a hubcap, or a building." For example, Alexander recently designed a diamond engagement ring for a customer with the base of the Eiffel Tower as the prongs. "I see prongs and bezels everywhere. I find it romantic using the Eiffel Tower," he adds. He doesn't even copy himself: He has not created any company line or collection, and he doesn't do custom work. Each design, he says, is unique. "The idea is just a blink in my head. . . . One of the most important things I do is create something that's never been done before. I know nothing about jewelry. It keeps my vision pure. I just want to pursue [the image] in my mind."
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