Steven Kretchmer Dies in Accident

By Hedda T. Schupak and Rob Bates -- JCK-Jewelers Circular Keystone, 8/1/2006

The industry is mourning the sudden loss of jewelry designer and innovator Steven Kretchmer, 52, who died July 8 as a result of injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident.

Daughter Claudia said his business—Los Angeles–based Steven Kretchmer Designs—will continue. “We want to carry on his legacy,” she said.

In an industry known for being tradition-bound and slow to change, Kretchmer stood out as a genius, an inventor, and rebel who turned tradition on its head and ignored convention. His innovations include blue and purple gold and Polarium, a magnetic platinum alloy that allows jewelry to exhibit some extremely odd behaviors, such as floating or, as Kretchmer termed it, levitating.

The son of a pediatric biochemist and a modern dance choreographer, Kretchmer grew up in a home that blended art and science, a combination that would inspire him his entire life. There were reportedly jewelers far back in the family’s ancestry, but Kretchmer’s own interest in it was self-initiated—although before entering the industry he spent some time on the crew of a fishing boat in Alaska, and earned black belts in three forms of martial arts.

Kretchmer earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in jewelry and metalsmithing at the Rhode Island School of Design, then traveled to Milan, Italy, where he learned traditional goldsmithing techniques from master craftsmen. While living in Milan, he gained a wife, Alma, who would become vice president of his company, and a stepdaughter, Claudia.

In 1982, Kretchmer received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the department of metalwork and jewelry design at the University of Michigan. His radical metallurgical innovations took him to Harry Winston in New York City, where he researched, developed, and produced jewelry components made from unique gold alloys, most notably 18k blue gold. In 1991, he founded his company, and a year later he was voted Designer of the Year at the summer Jewelers of America show.

When in the 1990s Platinum Guild International began revitalizing its American presence, it called on Kretchmer to help. Kretchmer did so by developing innovative production techniques, including his new general purpose alloy, Plat/S+, introduced in 1998. That same year, JCK’s Luxury International named him one of the 10 most collectible contemporary designers, in an article of jewelry historians and auction experts.

Plans are being made for a Rhode Island School of Design scholarship in metallurgy in his honor.

Woodstock, N.Y., police said Kretchmer, who was wearing a helmet and traveling at proper speed, was coming around a curve when his motorcycle struck a car that was turning around in the road, according to the Daily Freeman in Kingston, N.Y.

Friends and colleagues remembered Steven Kretchmer as a singularly focused innovator:

Claudia Kretchmer, daughter: He was passionate about everything that he did. He didn’t just want to make generic jewelry, but one-of-a-kind pieces that were museum worthy. He loved challenging himself and pushing the envelope and coming up with things that weren’t mainstream. He was truly ahead of his time.

He was one of those rare people that don’t come around very often. He was very social and outgoing and just loved to talk about everything. You always knew he had your back, and you could always count on him to take care of you. I don’t think he knew how much people really loved him and how much he meant to everybody.

Josh Helmich, Susan Helmich Designs: He was a great person and a great friend. I was always amazed at his drive for perfection. If something was a thousandth of a millimeter off, it didn’t get shipped. He just continually pushed the boundaries in his work. I think he is appreciated now, but I think as time goes on people will realize even more what he did and the boundaries he pushed.

Who would have even thought to magnetize platinum so it could levitate? That came out of a dream he had, and then he was able to make it happen. He truly was someone who was able to turn dreams into reality.

Cindy Edelstein, Jewelers Resource Bureau: I remember him telling me he was going to make jewelry float, and I said, What are you talking about? And then to actually do it, that’s phenomenal. And then he would make [the jewelry] so people would want to wear it. He had the mind of a scientist and the soul of an artist.

He knew everything about the technical aspects of jewelry manufacturing. He was brilliant and relentless. If he needed a machine and another company in the universe had it, even if they had nothing to do with jewelry, he would just track it down.

I saw a softness to him that I don’t think that many people saw. The care that he showed to his family was beyond measure. He was incredibly genuine. This was a man who wouldn’t lie. I am amazed at all the people who have been touched by him.

Hedda Schupak, JCK editor-in-chief: I was always struck by his intensity. The same discipline that earned him three black belts brought a laserlike focus to his creativity. In the manner of most geniuses, Kretchmer didn’t suffer fools—yet he would patiently explain the most minute and complex scientific concepts to anyone who truly desired to learn.

We had many conversations about whatever alloys and techniques he was developing at that particular point, and if he knew it was over my head—which it usually was—he explained it over and over until he was sure I really got it. He said what was on his mind without guile or subterfuge, and, though his straightforwardness and zest for life sometimes did ruffle a few feathers, his honesty was always admired.