STORY Kim Lee


Behold the tale of Bicakci the Bold, the poor Armenian jeweller from Istanbul who decided to follow his heart and found a happy destiny with the brilliance of his ingenious old-world jewels.

If you don't speak Turkish, the tale of jeweller extraordinaire Sevan Bicakci best comes in English from Emre Dilaver, who good-naturedly says, "I'm the storyteller." Bicakci's tale is an unusual one as jewellers go, for there are few Turkish jewellers on the world stage. He is different because he creates mesmerising hand-worked jewels with basic tools no fancier than a hammer, and different too because of the purity of his approach to jewellery, which has won him admiration as a rare artist among his peers.

I am waiting for Bicakci in a small room with viewing tables lit by pendulum lamps. The jewellery before me are one-of-a-kind originals richly infused with the history and culture of his homeland, Istanbul.

Under a magnifying glass, the brown lines on a ring open up into a detailed panorama of Istanbul port, a scene so rich you can almost hear waves slap against the boats, gulls call, and a mosque herald the faithful to prayer. In another ring, a crystal carved from inside becomes a lens to a local symbol of abundance and prosperity - a rich red pomegranate split and overflowing with abundant seeds, real enough to expect a whiff of its fragrance.

Such meticulous craftsmanship has not escaped the ardour of collectors, and one of Bicakci's citrine and diamond rings came up for auction at Christie's in April commanding a price of USD35,000, up from an estimate of USD20,000. Spot-lit on tables in a dim room, these jewels lend an Arabian Night aura to the telling of Bicakci's tale.

"Bicakci's first life ended in bankruptcy. He's a master goldsmith... He started as a 12-year-old kid. He was not from a wealthy family, and if you don't have money to invest in your business, the best thing a goldsmith can do is to serve others. That is what he did. He made wax models, masterpieces for mass manufacturers for their mass production. It was up to them to tell him what they wanted. He was bored, but for existence he had to do it. He partnered with two other people (for a business) which ended bitterly and he was left with nothing about 10 years ago." That's when Bicakci decided it was as good a time as any to give his creativity a chance.

"He decided not to go for mass production. He would create only unique pieces, and stay as far away as possible from Italian-like designs because that was what the mass manufacturers of Turkey gave him to do. He decided to get inspired by local sources, everything that surrounds him - on one hand nature, on the other, cultural heritage."

The moment Bicakci decided to fly with his dream, it appears magic began to happen. "The beginning was tough. He had to borrow money but he was able to create 50 pieces. Of course, it was difficult to have retailers understand his philosophy because they were concerned about materials, prices, volume, sizing, about the fact that if they liked something and bought and sold it, they would not be able to re-order it - because everything of Sevan's was unique."

"On the other hand Bicakci was lucky with the press, the editors. They loved, they bought and they made news about Sevan. Consumers got to know about him. They came directly to his tiny workshop with five people, and we used to serve them from the workbench. We didn't have space for a table! It was in a way a great time, with great expectations and hopes. And Sevan was incredible. He was like a magician. He kept experimenting. It is probably irrelevant to him if anyone buys at all. He creates for his own collection and people can choose from it."

"The jewellery looks old but the ideas are young. And when you look, you will see lots of layers to what he does - these are contributions from several artists. He loves to collaborate with artists and artisans from lots of disciplines. These include calligraphy, painting, micro mosaics, illumination, sculpture..."

Bicakci steps in at this point, as round as the cherubs he is so fond of depicting on his jewels, with the hirsute-quality of an amiable teddy bear, and no airs about his status. There is little more the 38-year-old jeweller can add to Dilaver's delivery, and it becomes time to leave Bicakci's magical world of Ottoman Sultan meets Alice-in-Wonderland jewellery - and the Cheshire Cat grin of a very happy man.