Featured Designer

Robert Bruce Bielka
A Perfect Combination

“It is the meaning of the occasion that brings the gift of jewelry to life.” – Robert Bruce Bielka

By Diana S. Zimmerman

Although often thought of as such, Robert Bruce Bielka is not a perfectionist. Because, as he states, “Perfectionists have trouble getting things done. Nothing is ever perfect enough for them. But I do have the highest standards – and the very highest expectations – and that, I think, is a perfect combination.”

Even though Bielka may not consider himself a perfectionist, his ever-growing list of celebrity clients such as Barbara Streisand, Yoko Ono, Brooke Shields, Demi Moore, Barbara Walters, Joan Rivers, Billy Joel, Susan Lucci, Emmy Rossum, Dorothy McGuire, and Pam Dauber certainly do. One look at the extreme quality and uncompromising attention to detail that goes into each piece he creates, and it is easy to see why they feel this way.

From the delightful whimsy of his “Bearloom” and “Diamond Monkey” collections, to the sophisticated chic of “Fleur-de-lis,” or masterful one-of-a-kind pieces, everything this passionate designer creates is nothing short of perfection. “My jewelry is an expression of my love of beauty, and love for those who wear it and those who appreciate it,” he explains. “I like to anthropomorphize the universe, even deify it, if you will. I think of it as having virtues such as truth, beauty, and purity, and I like to think of gemstones and precious metals as manifestations of these virtues. As such, they should be treated with the greatest respect and love. Balance and freedom come together naturally in this state-of-mind.” This sense of balance and freedom resonates throughout all of his pieces, many of which are unique in their approach to symmetry and precision.

As a jeweler, Bielka is also unique. Every aspect of jewelry making fascinates him. Not only is he a world-class designer, but he was the world's first jewelry designer to be credentialed as a “Certified Master Bench Jeweler” by Jewelers of America. Based in New York City, all Bielka jewelry is made in the USA in his own workshop, and under his direct supervision. In addition to doing all of the design, he sets each and every one of the important gemstones, and personally creates special one-of-a-kind pieces, as well as the original models from which each of his collections are crafted. Additionally, Bielka has two technical patents covering aspects of some of his most unusual and creative designs.

Having started as a student of Engineering and Art in Seattle at the University of Washington, Bielka met and discovered the two greatest loves of his life – his future wife Regina and jewelry making. “I first worked in bronze, making rustic handmade jewelry,” he stated. “I sat in the window of a dress shop creating hand wrought pieces for customers.”

In 1971, Robert Bielka began a long apprenticeship as a bench jeweler and jewelry designer. “Regina, (who is a painter and poet,) and I began to realize that both of our careers were limited in Seattle. So, in 1975, we decided to move to New York.” Cartier quickly snapped him up, there he had the opportunity to study under some of the finest bench jewelers, setters, and designers in the world. “While at Cartier, I learned all I could, and later worked with Fred Leighton repairing exceptional pieces from the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Working on these pieces helped me further my appreciation and understanding of how the finest jewelry is made. I also realized that I possessed all of the skills necessary to design and make- from start to finish-any piece of jewelry I wanted.”

Before long Bielka began designing for other companies such as Asprey, where he created their famous Sunflower and Daisy collections. In 1979, he and Regina, who manages the business side of the company, founded their own jewelry design and manufacturing firm. In 1981, they incorporated as Bielka, Inc. The extraordinary quality of his design and workmanship was immediately recognized, and before long he was selling one-of-a-kind show pieces to many of the world's leading retail jewelers, including Fred Leighton, Mikimoto, Tiffany, Van Cleef and Arpels, Harry Winston, Gublien, Chaumet, and Neiman Marcus. Many of these companies have showcased his jewelry in advertisements in top publications around the world. His pieces are also frequently featured in editorials in such magazines as Departures, W, Town & Country, and Veranda. Bielka jewelry has also graced the covers of Jewelry Connoisseur and InSync.

When asked where he gets his inspiration, Bielka says, “I don’t get it anywhere. It just comes to me. In fact, it comes to me in such profusion that I have to ignore most of it. Ultimately, my inspiration is love. It’s a universal love and a personal love. My jewelry is an expression of my love of beauty, and love for those who wear it and those who appreciate it.”

When asked what advice he would give to aspiring designers, Bielka replies, “One of the most important things I have learned – and I learned it very early on – is patience. For me, patience comes from understanding what it is to be human. As human beings it is inevitable we will make mistakes. The key for me is being able to forgive myself for making the mistake, and not saying to myself that I can’t do it, or that I’m no good just because I couldn’t do it the first time.” It is this attitude that Bielka says gives him “the strength to try again, to learn from my mistakes, and to learn how to correct something that might not be quite right” – to have, as he puts it, “the patience to be successful.”

And while Bielka may profess not to be a perfectionist, there is no question that he is, indeed, the perfect combination of everything that it takes to be an artiste extraordinaire in haute joaillerie.

www.bielkajewelry.com