Lecture Free

Neo-gemstones®

Name: Neo-gemstones®
Start: 2025-11-10T18:30:00
End: 2025-11-10T20:00:00
Location: Millennium Point, Birmingham

6.30pm – 8pm 10 November 2025 Birmingham, Millennium Point, Birmingham

2025 Art Lecture

With crystal growing techniques having been around since the 19th century, man-made crystals now drive innovations in various industries. This has, however, not fully translated into the jewellery industry, where they continue to be the subject of great debate. The lecture will provide an overview of Sofie Boons’ PhD research titled 'Neo-gemstones: An Alchemical Jeweller’s Exploration of Lab-grown Crystals and Related Technologies, Proposing Innovations Whilst Challenging Context, Terminology, and Underlying Assumptions'.

Following a historical and contemporary review, exploring why innovations in man-made crystal materials within a jewellery context remain sparse, an investigation into the culture and context surrounding man-made crystals interrogates the differences between these crystals and their mined counterparts, with findings visualised through Critical Design. The presentation, furthermore, illustrates the creative potential of incorporating lab-grown gemstones through three case studies: using urban mined lab-grown waste gemstones; collaborating with scientists to develop and use novel crystals with unique properties, such as phosphorescence; and incorporating crystal growth technologies directly into a Neo-alchemical jeweller’s practice.

'Neo-gemstone(s)®' is proposed as alternative terminology for labelling novel man-made crystal materials in response to the identified need for the re-framing and re-naming of enhanced and designed crystal materials when used in a contemporary jewellery context.

For more information, visit www.neo-gemstones.com.

Timetable

18:00 Networking

18:30 Presentation of 2025 Image Competition shortlisted entries and annoucement of winners

19:00 Lecture

19:30 Q&A session

20:00 END

Speaker

Sofie Boons

University of the West of England (UWE Bristol)

Sofie Boons is a jeweller working as Senior Lecturer in Design Crafts at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol). She recently completed a four-year Crafts Council Research Fellowship at the Centre for Print Research. For her research she has successfully achieved funding for two research residencies to Idar-Oberstein in Germany, including at the University of Applied Sciences Trier/ Idar-Oberstein, where she has been guest lecturing.

Prior to starting her research, Sofie worked as the Head of Academy for the British Academy of Jewellery. After graduating from the Royal College of Art in 2013 she has continually exhibited her work internationally under the moniker ‘The Alchemical Jeweller’ and her artefacts are held in the collections of a range of industry leading galleries.

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