You hear about jewelry’s movement often within this industry—how it moves on the body, how it bends or expands. Then there’s Moritz Glik, whose pieces are in motion in a way that is both playful and serious at the same time.
His signature design, the Kaleidoscope Shaker, is known for being lively, and that’s an understatement. Having those gems move as you move doesn’t happen accidentally; each stone is carefully placed inside its white sapphire crystal windowpane in Glik’s New York studio. And he still touches each piece to give it one last inspection before it goes out into the world.
“It’s also about quality. I’m a perfectionist. I want to touch and inspect every piece that leaves my workshop. That’s why I still sign by hand every single one of them,” Glik says.
It’s a laborious process, to be sure. But Glik is the kind of craftsperson who defines hands-on maker. After all, he grew up watching his mother sew one-of-a-kind dresses as a gown designer, and he sewed as well, making sandals for himself and friends before going into shoe design and manufacturing as a full-time career.
Glik grew up in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, which he describes as a “major capital but with a slow pace and countryside vibe.” His first jewelry memory is of a gold cuff bracelet that his mother used to wear. Her work within fashion was focused on the individual and had a methodical nature that stuck with him into his own work.
He learned how to operate a sewing machine while still a teen. By the time he was in college studying marketing and advertising, he was already running his own shoe factory. It sounds like a whirlwind, but for Glik it was a natural progression with lessons that still inform his work today.
“Running a company at such an early age teaches you a lot about hustle and willpower,” Glik says. “I was always very interested in designing and handcrafting things. I think it made sense at that time to pick a ‘real’ career, an office job where I would be able to apply my creativity. I’m sure college helped me a lot with my marketing and design skills, especially at the beginning of my professional journey.”
The one thing that still influences Glik from those early years as well is his love and respect for the materials he chooses, including leather. Shoe design was an almost accidental moment in his career, but that affection for careful craftsmanship and an admiration for leather continues even in his jewelry.
“I just love making things by hand. I started experimenting with leather, and there’s something about the malleability of the material, the smell, that is very attractive to me,” Glik says.
Glik moved to New York in 1991 to broaden his shoe-design experience, and he fell into jewelry at that point.
“Working for a leather company, I had the opportunity to meet a jewelry designer during a collaboration,” Glik says. “I immediately fell in love with the work. I truly believe in destiny, so when I was given the opportunity to migrate from shoes to jewelry, I didn’t think twice. I knew it was meant to be.”
Even now, as he begins work on a new home accessories line and continues his jewelry brand, he still admires the methodical nature of his chosen work.
“I’m a craftsman. I’m a bench jeweler. I really love the ingenuity of jewelry- making,” Glik says. “Having developed my own technique, my own kind of jewelry is one of the things I am most proud of in my life. Jewelry is an expensive experience, and I believe it must deliver a unique feeling to its holder. I want my jewelry to be out there, to be worn, to be seen, to be played with.
“But at the same time, this is not a fast-fashion business. I want my jewelry to be a token, to be meaningful for every owner,” Glik says. “I want them to know that there are hours of work by real people, artisans, behind that token.”
Top: Moritz Glik is known for creating kaleidoscopes within his fashionable jewelry, seeking to give people who wear his pieces a sensory experience that also communicates how each piece was lovingly handmade (photos courtesy of Moritz Glik).
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