ALVR Highlights Arts & Crafts Jeweler in ASJH Newsletter

An Arts and Crafts necklace and earrings from ALVR’s collection illustrates the cover story in the latest issue of the American Society of Jewelry Historians (ASJH) newsletter. The article is an important contribution to jewelry scholarship, highlighting the life and work of English jeweler Dorrie Nossiter, whose biography seemed long lost to history.

Her signature style is as admired and recognizable today as in her own time, when she enjoyed an industrious career from the 1930s through the ’50s. Her technique features clusters of gemstones, often in monochromatic color schemes, reminiscent of the layered dots in a pointillist painting. ALVR’s multigem suite comprising a necklace and earrings is a quintessential representation of her style, featuring monochromatic gemstones with gilded silver leaves and scrolls.

While the jewels speak for themselves, the lady behind them has remained somewhat of a mystery. Almost nothing biographical has been published on her, and primary sources are limited. Nonetheless, once these fragments are pieced together, a story emerges of how a talented young artist from Birmingham grew up to become a revered jewelry designer. Contact ASJH for the full story.