Bibi Van Der Velden
Biography
Bibi van der Velden’s jewelry is fashioned from haute precious materials such as 18k fair trade gold, diamonds, and baroque pearls, but there’s also a very human quality to her intricately crafted designs. Bibi believes that jewelry should inspire the wearer with energy, with her pieces offering a playful, personal, and highly artistic take on fine jewelry. This personal touch comes from a jewelry-making process that’s grounded in traditional craftsmanship. Bibi herself describes her jewelry pieces as “miniature sculptures.” Working with sustainable and unexpected materials, among them 60,000-year-old mammoth tusk, ostrich eggs, and scarab wings, as Bibi hand-sketches and hand-carves the initial idea for each piece in wax.
The artistic sensibility comes from Bibi’s background; born in New York and raised in both England and the Netherlands, and her mother, Michèle Deiters is a sculptor. Bibi studied fine arts in Florence, Italy, before honing her eye at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague. Bibi van der Velden launched her namesake brand in 2006 and now creates jewelry and sculpture from her studio in Amsterdam. Bibi’s Dutch heritage can be found in her jewelry today, with the country’s rich art history one of the many influences on her work. Nature and the animal world other constants that inspire Bibi’s designs, from earrings fashioned as swirling tornadoes to statement alligator earrings carved from mammoth tusk and gold to a noble mammoth unicorn that sits on a gold ring.
Works
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Alligator on pearl earrings with olive quartz -
Thin alligator wrap necklace
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Alligator rainbow pearl earrings
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Scarab ebony ring with watermelon tourmaline
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Scarab malachite ring with green tourmaline
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Scarab mammoth ring with green tourmaline
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Big scarab pave bracelet
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Scarab eternity necklace
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Scarab and pearl bangle
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Diamond alligator earrings
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Diamond alligator necklace
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The Queen B diamond alligator earring
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Mermaid tail twist ring
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Meandering mermaid tail bangle
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Meandering mermaid tail ring
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Frog brooch
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Large frog necklace
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Large frog abalone ring
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Diamond alligator wrap ring
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Baby alligator chain necklace
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Large alligator mammoth bite earring
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Jellyfish quartz earrings with rose gold tentacles
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Fin component necklace
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Polaris pearl earrings
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Scarab mammoth bangle
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Trip down memory lane necklace
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Mini scarab opal eternity bracelet
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Frog abalone stackable ring
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Frog malachite stackable ring
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Frog opal stackable ring
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Diamond alligator twist ring
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Diamond alligator bracelet
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Diamond alligator ring
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Tsavorite single scarab ring
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Monkey opal earrings
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Scarab tsavorite floaty ring
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Jumping frog stud
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Medium frog ring
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Frog tiger eye stackable ring
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Tadpole earrings
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Tadpole chain
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Tadpole to frog bangle abalone
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Mini frog abalone quartz stud
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Frog abalone hanging earring
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Mini frog opal quartz stud
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Set of alligator twist
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Thin alligator bracelet
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Set vertebrae alligator earrings
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Gold scarab pop art diamond ring
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Scarab pop art necklace
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Scarab opal floaty ring
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Trio bear necklace
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Two bear bracelet
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Bear and salmon ear climber
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Mini scarab stud earring with pink sapphires
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Mini opal scarab stud
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Mini scarab malachite stud
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Exhale diamond stackable ring
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Exhale violet stackable ring
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Wisp diamond stackable ring
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Yellow gold bear stackable ring with diamonds
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Panther ring
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Diamond smoke infinity stud
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Splash stud
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Mermaid tail with pearls
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Medium banana stud earring
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Diamond alligator climbers
Publications
