The idea of “transformation” is a key element in much of my work. This experimental approach has nothing to do with scientific curiosity; it is the “game” aspect that interests me.

Fabrice Schaefer

Fabrice Schaefer works predominantly in gold and titanium, ‘noble’ materials with quite different properties. He admits a fascination for the hardness of titanium and he rejects silver, for the most part, as being too soft. Paradoxically, he also loves metal because of its “forgiving” nature, as it can be re-welded, formed or cast, allowing mistakes to be corrected; “nothing is ever really lost” he says. Fabrice mainly creates rings, which he believes are the most essential jewellery, “the be-all and end-all” for its close contact with the skin.

Fabrice Schaefer graduated from the Geneva School of Applied Arts in 1996 with a diploma in jewelry and has exhibited internationally since then. His work has won several awards, including the Concours fédéral des arts appliqués (the Federal Prize for Applied Arts) in Basel (1998) and has been published widely in publications on jewellery.

Also in 1998, Fabrice opened the jewelery gallery TACTILe in Geneva, where he remains a director. He has been Professor at the Geneva University of Art and Design since 2000. He has conducted workshops worldwide since 2003.

Fabrice Schaefer’s work can be found in the collections of the V&A Museum, London, The International Design Museum / Die Neue Sammlung in Munich and MUDAC in Lausanne, among others.