Yasuko Azuma

Childhood memories of growing up in Japan, prior training and careers as a fashion designer in her native country and as a dancer in New York all provide Yasuko Azuma with inspiration for her elegantly feminine and intricately detailed 18k gold precious jewelry collection.

Yasuko Azuma launched her first full scale collection in 2003, under her own name, after mastering the craft of delicate hand piercing and a hand finished “diamond dust” texture. Both techniques continue to be part of her signature style and have garnered the attention of leading retailers, press and consumers.

Her love of fabrics, particularly vintage Kimonos patterns, her affinity for the old world charm of fans and Ranma (the pierced work on sliding doors in old homes in Japan) and the refined movement she strived for during her years as a dancer all inform her collections. These influences show up in the motifs and graceful lines of Yasuko's designs from the dainty cut outs that adorn the sides of a ring shank to the leaves and vines and flowers that bloom on a medallion or flow from earrings.

Born in Sapporo Japan, Yasuko’s flair for the creative was already being realized at age six. In 1994, Yasuko moved to New York to pursue her dreams and began studying jewelry fabrication and design at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

While still attending school, Yasuko’s mother asked her to create a new setting for a family heirloom, a fire opal ring, which had a broken shank. The precision and beauty of the piercing style of tiny flowers and leaves around the bezel and on the shank gave the gemstone a completely original look. It also gave Yasuko the impetus to continue to develop her hallmark style and to literally carve out her unique identity in the luxury jewelry market.