Magderie Klugman was born in a small mining town in South Africa, where her father was a Geologist in the gold mines. Her father instilled a love of precious metals and precious stones in her from a very young ate.
She moved to the US in 2001, it is in Atlanta, GA where she started her career in jewelry making. Her passion for making cloisonne enameled jewelry was fueled by Ricky Frank her instructor and master in cloisonne enameling.
Cloisonne enameling is an ancient technique for decorating metal, one finds examples of it in ancient Egypt in the jewels of the Pharaohs. This fine silver or 24K gold wires are fused into a fine silver or gold base plate with fine grains of glass to make cells. The cells are then filled with thin layers of fine grains of glass and each layer is fired at 1500 degrees F until the enamel reach the top of the fused wires. The piece is then refined and prepared to be set in a bezel setting. It is a tedious but very fulfilling technique with awe inspiring results.
