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Object Timeline

2002	Work on this object began.
2012	We acquired this object. We photographed this object.
2019	We photographed this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object.
2024	You found it!

Necklace (USA)

This is a necklace. It was made by Sung-Ran Kim. It is dated 2002 and we acquired it in 2012. Its medium is electroformed silver. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

This necklace, from the personal collection of jewelry designer and metalsmith Chunghi Choo, is an important example of an innovative use of technology in an elegant design. With an intricate yet fluid composition, the necklace combines modern design practice with an aesthetic that harks back to the 16th and 17th centuries in its resemblance to Elizabethan ruff collars, which were stiff in appearance and made of various fabrics. Although made from electroformed silver, it mimics the curves and volume of a fabric piece.
This piece uses electroforming in an innovative way that is rarely seen in jewelry production. Electroforming is similar to electroplating in that it deposits thin layers of metal on a form using an electric current. In electroforming, however, the plating is thicker and the form is removed afterwards, resulting in a self-supporting structure that enables a finer and more complex replication of the original form. This necklace reveals the advantages of using this mechanical process in jewelry making: its continuous curves and bends would have been nearly impossible to create through traditional methods.
This piece represents an important combination of innovation and technology in 21st-century jewelry design and would be the first piece by the Korean designer, Sung-Ran Kim, to enter the collection. The acquisition of this necklace would also be an exciting opportunity for the museum to augment its contemporary jewelry collection with a noteworthy piece valued by a significant designer; the museum’s collection includes a sophisticated silver teapot designed by Choo.

This object was donated by Chunghi Choo. It is credited Gift of Chunghi Choo.

A large yellow circular bracelet with various spherical protrusions in red, pink, and orange. The bracelet in its entirety appears to have a soft, crushed velvet-like exterior. A metal sliver on two opposing sides of the bracelet, cuts it in half; however, both halves remain together in one piece.

Candy Wear Bracelet
electroformed, assembled and soldered silver covered in electrostatically....
The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
2016-34-49

There are 3 pieces of jewelry in the frame: one brooch and two bracelets that are designed the same way. The brooch is in the shape of an 'X', yellow in color, and appears to have a soft, crushed velvet-like exterior. It is medium/large in size. The two bracelets are circular in shape, one fuchsia and the other orange, with a total of 5 spherical protrusions evenly spaced out, along the bracelets soft exterior. These spherical protrusions are not the same material as the bracelet, in fact, they are made of a metal substance. A metal sliver on two opposing sides of the bracelet, cuts it in half; however, both halves remain together in one piece.

Candy Wear Brooch And Two Bracelets
electroformed, assembled and soldered silver covered in electrostatically....
The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
2016-34-50-a/c

A tiara covered in a crushed velvet-like material, has a yellow-green band, and a large red sphere that rests off to the (viewers) left side of that band. Beneath the tiara band are 5 long teeth protruding, to secure the tiara in place when in use.

Candy Wear Tiara
copper, electroformed, assembled and soldered silver covered in....
The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
2016-34-51

Our curators have highlighted 1 object that are related to this one.

A shiny metal necklace possessing undulating waves with consistent crests; resting close to the neck; clasp on an ascending part of the wave.

Necklace
bent silver wire.
The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
2016-34-116

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 13.3 x 12.7 x 2.5 cm (5 1/4 in. x 5 in. x 1 in.)

Cite this object as

Necklace (USA); Made by Sung-Ran Kim (Korean, b. 1960); electroformed silver; H x W x D: 13.3 x 12.7 x 2.5 cm (5 1/4 in. x 5 in. x 1 in.); Gift of Chunghi Choo; 2012-24-1

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/48KgD/
Accession Number 2012-24-1
Object ID 35460831