Join us for a fascinating conversation with featured artist-jeweler Adam Neeley and curator Timothy Adams as they explore the fusion of art + nature in the jewelry designs of Modern Alchemy. Learn about the creative working processes of this innovative jeweler and the techniques he uses to create the sublime and imaginative pieces that define this twenty-first century alchemist.

Adam Neeley is an award-winning artist-jeweler who transforms precious metals and gemstones into wearable art by traditional goldsmith techniques and modern technologies. His unique designs are inspired by the vast variety of shapes and colors found in the natural world. In fact, it was his childhood interest in collecting rocks that eventually drew Neeley to the master goldsmiths in Italy, where he would study the art of jewelry making. Eventually he developed his own style and techniques of goldwork that have won him international acclaim, as well as prestigious awards across the jewelry industry.

Through many years of trial and error, Adam Neeley developed a never-before-seen technique that he calls Spectra Gold, which seamlessly changes one color of gold into another. This is accomplished by a labor-intensive forging process to create a subtle gradient, or ombré, of color from yellow gold to white gold and more. This, along with his creation of totally new colors of gold, adds to the sense that his jewelry is created by a modern-day alchemist.

Timothy Adams is an art historian, lecturer and consultant with a specialty in historical gold work. He is the co-author of “Faberge: The Twilight Years”, published November 2023, a collaborative project headed by world renown Faberge scholar Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm. Adams is on the Board of Editorial Review for the Gemological Institute of America’s Gem & Gemology Journal and, in addition, authors book reviews for the journal. He has lectured at museums and symposiums in the U.S., Asia, and Russia on the work of Carl Faberge, Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany & Co., and art historical subjects.