Michael Thornton is a jewelry designer from the mid size town of Katy, Texas. His college work was at the University of Houston where his major was English and his minor was art. He first learned of jewelry construction in an art class consisting of design and building techniques, but he did not pursue the art until many years later.

Handmade Blood Red Topaz Pendant

After suffering a heart attack and subsequent triple bypass surgery, he had to slow down his life and find a less stressful occupation. Jewelry construction fit the need for less stress. Michael chose to work with wire as his primary medium, turning a length of wire into a wearable work of art was truly rewarding to him.

Michael has been a wire artist for about three years. He works with large gemstones because he found that few wire jewelry designers were willing to deal with faceted stones. Michael sets the stones in simple yet elegant gold or silver wire frames. As for his chain maille, Michael makes use of Gold, Silver, Copper, and base metal to create earrings, bracelets, and necklaces, sometimes utilizing thousands of rings to form his silky smooth works of art.

A few examples of handmade jewelry by featured jewelry designer Michael Thornton