About Macdara Ó Graham
The Jewellery
Macdara Ó Graham is an artist goldsmith who specialises in creating one-off precious fine jewellery.
Each handmade piece is made with precious metals and coloured gemstones, using techniques such as fine gemstone setting and micro-pavé. He works from his studio in Mullaghban in County Armagh, Ireland.
The concept for the brand name and logo is inspired by Macdara’s first name, an old Gaelic name meaning ‘Son of the Oak’.
This symbolism permeates through the brand ethos evoking ideas of ‘nature’, ‘strength’ and ‘longevity’- the oak being the primordial king of the woods.
“I believe strongly that we are all uniquely individual and each piece of jewellery I design should reflect that sense of individuality and personality. That is my main intention with each piece that I make whether designing and creating spontaneously or when working closely with a client to design and make their perfect piece of heirloom jewellery.”
– Macdara Ó Graham
As well as creating one-off pieces, Macdara often remodels existing jewellery and gemstones owned and cherished by the client to create a new piece incorporating specific design elements and symbolism personal to the client.
Artist Statement
I’m passionate about handmade jewellery. Work that’s made skilfully by hand, an intimate process of sole-authorship where I am tangibly and viscerally connected to the work.
I believe by crafting jewellery by hand in this way it allows for greater precision and attention to detail, as well as giving each piece the unique personality of being touched by the hand of the maker.
It’s a privilege to follow an ancient continuum of metal working, drawing from that pool of wisdom, while also expressing my own unique ‘voice’ as an artist.
The tools and techniques haven’t changed that much, in fact it could be argued that many of the modern techniques, computer aided design or rapid prototyping, remove the sensitivity and intimacy of working the material by hand.
With this in mind, I am devoted to creating heirloom jewellery that is carefully crafted to last a lifetime, to be cherished and passed on to future generations.