To most, being present is the utmost challenge. In addition to requiring constant practice, it takes an incredible amount of attention, patience and time.
However, it is one of the most important skills for a full and beautiful life. In the realm of high craft, presence is non-negotiable. It is the gap between complacency and excellence, mistakes and successes, machines and human beings. With her quiet mastery of this skill, Denise Betesh rises above the rest.
Denise works primarily in 22K gold – a precious metal chosen for its deep, buttery color. A delicate balance is struck between the gold and each hand-picked stone to highlight the inherent beauty of both.
An intensely detailed person, Denise considers every angle and facet when creating her pieces. The liquidity of a sapphire strand is just as important as how each stone is carved – no individual elements exist without considering the full composition.
Presence within craft is different from presence with a loved one or a colleague. In jewelry-making, it can be taking the time to shape the perfect curve on the loop of a pendant or the hook of an earring.
Other times, it is carefully hand-forging each and every centimeter-long link in a delicate chain bracelet. Occasionally, it is granulating dozens of tiny gold beads or slowly stringing a hundred champagne diamonds onto silk thread.
Denise’s dedication to craft — and the patience it requires — sublimates into a collection of classics at home in the conscious, contemporary jewelry box. Because at the end of it all, the jeweler’s presence is what makes the difference between something ordinary and something incredible.
