Gonzalo Martin is a Sydney-based jeweller originally from Argentina, working in 99.5 pure silver sourced from Argentina. The higher silver content gives his pieces a distinctly different weight and surface quality. Martin works primarily in cuffs, band rings and crosses, with a recurring body of work he calls Arma Christi, Latin for weapons of Christ, drawing on medieval iconography and Christian symbolism. Surfaces are deliberately hammered, giving each piece a rough, worked quality that is the opposite of polished commercial jewellery. Oxidised finishes are used throughout, often in combination with gold. Band rings carry Latin inscriptions. The work sits closest in spirit to the medieval and pre-industrial traditions of European metalwork, though the making happens in Sydney. Each piece is individual.
