I’m at all times sport to know extra about jewelers I’ve by no means heard of, and once I discovered that Latvia-born Rafka Koblence was a former Olympic wrestler—a distinction he earned in Israel, quickly after his household immigrated there in 1966—I used to be immediately drawn in. My first cousin as soon as eliminated (who’s extra like a nephew) Richard Fedalen is a rising star on the worldwide junior wrestling circuit, and I requested him if he’d heard of Koblence. He had not. However as my nephew is a historical past buff (in addition to a world-class athlete), I believe he has nearly actually heard of the bloodbath on the 1972 Olympics in Munich. The vicious terror assault claimed the lives of a number of members of Israel’s Olympic wrestling group, all Koblence’s former teammates. His beloved coach was additionally among the many slain.
It’s an occasion that haunts Koblence to at the present time—as a result of it’s solely by likelihood that he wasn’t on the Olympics that 12 months. “I used to be on the nationwide group till 1972, once I had a falling out with the top Israeli referee and determined to go to my household within the U.S. with a purpose to keep away from competing for the group on the Munich Olympic Video games,” Koblence tells JCK. When the tragedy struck, “I usually blamed myself, considering had I been there I might need died, however with one additional man issues might have been totally different. I used to be tormented and unhappy for a few years.”
In America, he sought solace in a brand new profession path, that of a supplier of classic and property jewellery in Boston. When rising up in Riga, Latvia, lengthy earlier than his wrestling profession intervened, he’d come throughout a ebook that includes jewellery collections by Peter Carl Fabergé solely designed for the Russian royal court docket. The intricacy of the jewels made an enduring impression on the younger Koblence—and the will to sometime design jewels of his personal creation lingered at the back of his unconscious, propelling him within the course of the jewellery trade when he discovered himself in want of a brand new skilled purpose.
In 1979, he moved his workplace to New York’s forty seventh Road, the place he labored with a companion as a purchaser, vendor, and polisher of diamonds. “On the time, I used to be elevating a household with three children and couldn’t afford but to pursue my ardour of creating one-of-a-kind jewellery,” he says. However working in New York’s jewellery commerce bought him nearer and nearer to his dream of sooner or later launching an eponymous workshop, and afforded him the chance to show himself the artwork of designing and handcrafting jewellery.
Rafka & Co. opened its doorways in 1996, and Koblence has quietly been designing bespoke jewellery for personal purchasers ever since.
Now a grasp jeweler, he’s obsessed with visible and structural particulars and old-world craftsmanship strategies. “I draw lots of inspiration from basic and weird shapes, ones that could be arduous to make into jewellery,” he says. “I additionally love to have a look at high quality stones and supplies and picture all the weird shapes and designs I can create with them.”
When he displays on the Munich tragedy, it’s clear it has had a profound impact on his evolution as a designer. “The one time I discovered peace in my thoughts was once I began creating jewellery of my goals. In being true to myself and honoring the reminiscence of my fallen associates and lecturers, I used to be lastly in a position to flip the web page and transfer on,” he says.
Does the designer see any parallels between wrestling and making jewellery?
“Innovation,” says Koblence. “Whether or not it’s creating alternatives to make my opponent fly or ruminating over advanced designs and items, innovation, dedication, and focus are central.” [According to my nephew, to make your opponent “fly” is to literally throw them in the air during a match—a classic Greco-Roman wrestling takedown that only happens at the highest level.]
Koblence has been engaged on a brand new assortment titled Dreamcatcher, a variety impressed by conventional Native American dream catchers.
Every Dreamcatcher design is marked with delicately entangled wire that has summary beginning and finish factors.
“It started as an epiphany one evening a number of years in the past after struggling for weeks of restlessness,” says Koblence. “I envisioned a dream catcher, with all its entangled wires and complexity swooping right down to take my goals away. The enthralling side of the dream catcher is the advanced community of entangled wires.
“By means of the chaos, one can’t discover the place the wire begins or ends, and but it creates an attractive sample.”
It’s an concept greatest understood within the jewels themselves, highlighted beneath.
And as for the athletes who misplaced their lives in Munich that day, might their reminiscence be a blessing.
Dreamcatcher pendant earrings in 18k yellow gold with diamonds and emeralds, value on request
Dreamcatcher ring in 18k rose gold and platinum with diamonds, value on request
Dreamcatcher earrings in 18k white gold with 30.85 cts. t.w. diamonds, value on request
Dreamcatcher ring in 18k rose gold and platinum with spherical diamonds and various fancy and round-shape coloured diamonds, value on request
Dreamcatcher earrings in 18k rose gold with 14.69 cts. t.w. diamonds, value on request
Dreamcatcher earrings in 18k rose gold with 31.68 cts. t.w. assorted fancy and round-shape white and coloured diamonds, value on request
