NEW YORK -- Gregore Morin, designer and goldsmith, has been a jeweler for 30 years. Still, he says he was surprised to win the JA Mort Abelson New Jewelry Designer of the Year Award this week, marking the first time he exhibited at JA New York. He was even more surprised -- shocked, in fact -- that he won the AJDC's New Talent Competition to land the booth in JA to begin with. "I didn't expect it," he says.

Morin worked for years as a jeweler for Silverhorn Jewellers in Santa Barbara, CA., before striking out on his own. While at Silverhorn, he learned from designers such as Christoph Krahenmann and Stephen Webster.

He knew it was time to give his creativity full rein when he began imagining pieces fairly far out of the realm of the ordinary and felt compelled to make them. He decided to spend his own time and money to give substance to original works of art, beginning with a piece called Geisha and followed by a series of pieces based on natural themes, such as a seahorse titled "King of the Sea."  Creativity unleashed, awards ensued. Since 2001, he has won nine AGTA Spectrum Awards and was a runner up in the World Gold Council Design Contest.

"For the past 10 years I've been designing things I like, rather than things that I know will sell," he says. Morin designs and fabricates all of his limited-edition pieces by hand using traditional tools and techniques. He has been lauded for originality and innovation, as well as the marketability and cohesiveness of his designs. His whimsical pieces are studded with gemstones and diamonds, carefully placed to enhance the designs: A black diamond cat has a pink opal nose; his geisha is crowned with onyx hair and carries a sapphire fan. His opal cabochon frog has a pink sapphire eye.

Morin's work can be found at Silverhorn, in museums and in private collections; now he says he is looking for more exposure, as well as a publicist.

Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Morin became interested in nature and design at an early age. He apprenticed as a goldsmith and worked at fine-jewelery houses in Vancouver before he moved to California. 

For more information, see gregorejoailliers.com