Jewelry has the ability to convey complex meaning unlike almost any other kind of object. It is and has been: handmade, mass-produced; a possession, a gift, a symbol; a means to reflect social and cultural status, a means to reflect something personal. Its power applies to commercial, mass-produced jewelry (especially when it is given as a gift) yet is even greater when jewelry itself is considered as subject — who made it and why, who wears it and how.

Contemporary art jewelry often investigates cultural, social, personal and environmental topics. Distinguished by a vocabulary of diverse media from precious metals to recycled objects, it also reflects artist’s interests in material exploration and notions of wearability. RAM’s holdings in art jewelry — with examples from artists across the globe and at varying stages in their career — are growing rapidly.