Nautilus Earrings

3.4 x 0.3 x 2.8 cm

22k corrugated gold strip, epoxy resin, 18k post and catch

In the jewellery industry the use of epoxy resin is reviled as an indication of poor craftsmanship. Nanz wanted to play with this strong emotional notion of preciousness and acceptable materials. Casting epoxy resin into the 22k gold strips has cause cognitive dissonance in many who have viewed them, causing the earrings to be assumed to be cut gemstone.

Nanz Aalund's wide-ranging career as a jewellery designer, goldsmith, and educator began in high school shop classes. After serving as a fine jewellery designer and marketing consultant for Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Tiffany & Co., Aalund taught jewellery and metals classes as the Artist-in Residence at the University of Washington under Mary Lee Hu and at the Art Institute of Seattle. She has earned a Master of Fine Art (MFA/Metals) and a Master of Education in College and Technical Teaching Curriculum (CTTC).

Some of Aalund's many professional jewellery design awards include an AGTA Spectrum Award, two Gemmy Awards, two Platinum Guild International Awards, two Saul Bell Awards, and two De Beers Diamonds Today Awards. In 2023, entering as a Canadian for the first time, Nanz was awarded the CPAA Spotlight Award for her Pearl Nebula necklace. She served as technical author and associate editor for Art Jewelry Magazine, and in 2009 she authored the book Masters: Gold, published by Lark Books. In 2018, Nanz received an AM&P Excel Award for her book A Jeweler's Guide to Apprenticeship.

In 2023, Nanz designed the educational program and wrote the curriculum for a goldsmithing apprenticeship based on the DACUM conducted by Charles Lewton-Brain in Calgary, Alberta. This curriculum was accepted as a Registered Apprentice Program (RAP) by the U.S. Department of Labor, a first in U.S. history. This curriculum has been requested by the Goldsmiths' Halls in London and Edinburgh, as well as the government of Romania for their training program.