Tamar Collection
Studio
Stories
The Tamar Collection: Studio Stories
After a four-year hiatus from releasing a new collection, I returned to creating with renewed purpose. The Tamar Collection emerged from that return, born at the Tucson Gem Show and forged through countless bench-side pivots in my Denver studio.
Each piece in this collection is one-of-a-kind. Each creation took me on what I call a "micro-journey", a unique path from raw gemstone to finished work that can never be exactly replicated. These stories document that process: the pivots, the problems-turned-breakthroughs, and the moments when the materials finally told me what they wanted to become.
This collection
is named for Tamar, my first collector, the woman who saw me before the gallery features, before the museum showcases, before the industry recognition. She taught me that jewelry lives beyond metal and stone. In her words, each piece "chose her," calling to parts of her identity that felt "punk-ass and tough" or "graceful and full of bliss." She spoke the language of color, emotion, and intuition, and saw my pieces as personal talismans, memory-keepers, and power statements.
The Tamar Collection embodies that same language. It's for those who want to feel something real every time they put it on.
About This Collection
Design Philosophy: Structured Beauty, Gemstone-Led Process
The Tamar Collection represents a deliberate aesthetic shift in my work, from organic, flowing forms to structured, architectural design.
What defines this collection:
Mosaic-style settings - Gemstones framed like stained glass in handcrafted gold
Articulated joints - Engineering that allows rigid-looking pieces to move with the body
Tailored uniformity - Precise geometric repetition that honors the gemstone's natural shape
Bench-side pivots - Every piece required abandoning the original vision to let the materials lead
The process:
All gemstones were sourced from the Tucson Gem Show in Tucson, Arizona, the largest gem show in the world. Back in my studio, these uncommon stones met real metal, real gravity, and my willingness to pivot. I experimented, assessed, refined, again and again, until each design carried both breath and backbone.
The rhythm of creation: trial by fire (quite literally, armed with my soldering torch), where sketch or intuitive movement becomes sculpture, then extrapolates into functional art.
The philosophy:
I practice what I call "using the whole buffalo." When I source a strand of exceptional gemstones, I honor the entire material by creating companion pieces, cuffs that complete chokers, and earrings that extend the narrative. Not "sets" for the sake of matching, but respect for the material and momentum for the creative process.
Engineering for the Body
How Jewelry Learns to Move With You
Creating sculptural art is one thing; creating sculptural art for the human body is another. The human form is essential in informing my work when creating within negative space.
What looks effortless on the neck is often my most complex work.
The engineering of pieces like the green amethyst collar only worked when every stone had its own frame with precision-drilled holes, and the chains were precisely graduated so the necklace gently "fans out" across the collarbone. Without this exactness, the necklace would droop—because the length of the top chain must be shorter than the others to follow the natural neckline.
The micro-decisions matter:
The millimeters I adjust in the chain length between framed stones
The moment a finer chain unlocks delicate control over drape
The relief when geometry finally turns into grace
The articulated joints that allow rigid metal to flex with your movement
I test, shorten, rehang, and rework until the metal learns the body's contours. It's where craft becomes comfort, and comfort becomes confidence for you, the wearer.
It's a good thing I can test my pieces on myself multiple times during the creation process. If it doesn't work for me, it won't work for you.
What Makes These Stories Matter
The Micro-Journey: Why One-of-a-Kind Design Can Never Be Replicated
As a one-of-a-kind jewelry designer, I don't work with production lines, templates, or repeatable processes. Each piece emerges from:
The specific gemstones I found on that particular sourcing trip
The technical challenges that arose when those stones met metal
The creative pivots required when the original vision failed
The serendipitous discoveries that happened in the struggle
This means no two pieces can ever be the same, even if I wanted to recreate one. The gemstone strand is gone. The creative problem-solving happened in real-time. The micro-journey is complete.
When you own a piece from the Tamar Collection, you're the only person in the world who possesses that exact design, born from that specific material and that singular creative journey.
These stories pull back the curtain on that process. They document the blistered hands, the re-dos that turned to revelations, the moments when a piece finally smiled back at me from the bench.
The Studio Stories
Explore the Collection
The Tamar Collection features pastel gemstones in structured, architectural settings. Each piece is one-of-a-kind and available exclusively through Andrea Li.
Interested in a custom piece inspired by this aesthetic?
I create commissioned work that captures the same structured, mosaic-style approach with gemstones you choose. Learn about custom commissions →
