While Yasuko Azuma was first studying jewelry design at New York City’s Fashion Institute of Technology, her mother asked her to rebuild a precious family heirloom—a fire opal ring with a broken shank. Nested in tiny gold flowers and leaves, the decorative elements lent the gemstone its own unique character. This taught Yasuko a formative lesson, one that would eventually lay the foundation for her own aesthetic voice: the details, no matter how minute, are what breathe life into the inanimate.
Yasuko’s 18K gold is finished with her signature diamond dust texture, wherein she achieves a subtle glitter akin to crusted snow. Particularly in her rings, the dimensionality of a piece is held not only by its gemstone, but by its patina. This approach ensures the entirety of her careful design is sparkling and chromatic against the skin, no matter which way the central setting faces.
Despite her attention on her settings themselves, Yasuko’s selection of stones is notable even from a passing glance. The diamonds and tourmalines are large and softly colored, chosen for their character rather than perfect clarity. She most often works with cushion or rose cuts to maximize refraction. Each stone is held firmly in place by four tiny, granulation-esque prongs, allowing the stone’s table to be fully visible.
“The details are not the details. They make the design.”
—Charles Eames
