"I never used to like jewellery" Jordi tells us at the start of the interview, with a sincerity that's incredibly touching.
Jordi Rosich is very young. He may be 36 years old but he's been living side by side with the tools of his trade and with diamonds and precious stones for the past 25 years.
During this time he's gone from rejecting the profession to loving it with all his heart and soul. Today he's the jeweller and designer of all the pieces in Roosik & Co's collections, an enterprise he also founded. He now has a team of jewellers and setters who work with him in bringing to life each of the pieces he imagines.
- Considering you never used to like jewellery, you now have your own jewellery business!
Jordi Rosich: It's true. When I was a child I didn't feel any attachment at all to jewellery. In fact, I wanted to get away from it because it robbed me of time I wanted to spend with my family. My parents were jewellers with a family business so they had to devote a lot of time to it... and I never saw them.
- So, what happened...?
Jordi Rosich: I saw them working so hard that, even though I didn't identify with what they were trying to do, I wanted to help them out. And they needed me, too... First they asked me to help with various computer problems because I knew my way around computers. But, after a while, I started doing repairs and commissions for their workshop. I was a quick learner and would come up with my own ideas and solutions... and I gradually started to see the world of jewellery with very different eyes.
- And when you had to decide what to study... Did you go for computing or jewellery?
Jordi Rosich: (laughs) No, I didn't want to be a jeweller. When I was 17 and trying to decide on a career, I had a huge dilemma. I knew it would break my parents' hearts if I didn't study jewellery...
At that time, deciding to become a jeweller was more because of my commitment to my family and my close ties with them than an actual vocation.
- Roosik & Co's jewellery is very special; it has a very distinct personality. When did you start to develop your own style and feel the need to create and design your own jewellery?
Jordi Rosich: I've always tended to do thousands of things at the same time. I'm very curious and have a huge need to create and challenge myself.
When I qualified, at the age of 22, I realised I had even more tools and resources to express all the creativity that was bubbling up inside me. I realised that, for the first time, I felt a certain fondness for jewellery, and that jewellery was fond of me, too. I had a new way to express myself.
- Just like a painter...
Jordi Rosich: Yes, I feel like a painter. For me, diamonds and gemstones are like brushes for an artist or notes for a musician. They're the tools I use to "compose" jewellery.
As soon as I'd mastered the techniques, I started to really enjoy the craft. That was the beginning of the first designs and the pieces that now form part of Roosik & Co's collections.
- What's your creative process? I mean, how do you start to create a piece of jewellery?
Jordi Rosich: Often, when I see people, I instinctively visualise the kind of jewellery that would suit them. And, with that idea in mind, I make a quick sketch on paper and then pick out some precious stones and diamonds and place them on the drawing, trying out different combinations.
I then transfer the initial sketch to a 3D design program, which I use to perfect the details and ensure the piece is functional, easy to wear and long-lasting, as well as being aesthetically pleasing.
- Are women the inspiration for your jewellery?
Jordi Rosich: Yes, without doubt, and so are gemstones and diamonds. I'm a gemmologist and I also love nature, so I'm passionate about natural stones and everything they evoke. I spend hours looking at their shapes, colours... I appreciate their rarity and the fact that each one is so unique in the world. So, sometimes, my creative process begins simply with a gemstone. I feel the need to create a bespoke gold frame that embraces and enhances the stone's natural beauty and personality.
- Your jewellery is minimalist in essence...
Jordi Rosich: Those who know me know that I'm a perfectionist and a great exponent of "less is more". That's why I try to make the lines of each piece pure and essential. Even the clasps that hold the gemstones in place are expressed minimally.
- Jordi, what is a piece of jewellery?
Jordi Rosich: A piece of jewellery is much more than gold and precious stones; it's not a luxury. It's pure emotion. It's love, art, design, technology, creativity... And it's also endless hours of dedication.
- What does Roosik & Co mean to you?
Jordi Rosich: It's a project that involves honesty and transparency, with myself and also with others. It's a dialogue from the heart.
- Honesty?
Jordi Rosich: Yes. People don't quite understand what honesty is in a piece of jewellery or in the world of jewellery. For me, jewellery is a place for artistic expression in communion with the environment and with the people who are around me and form part of it.
That's why I monitor each and every creative process, from the moment a piece is born until you're holding it in your hands. That way I can guarantee the piece of jewellery is truly what I tell you it is.
I invest so many hours in improving and perfecting a design so I can assure you I have made the piece of jewellery with you in mind, like a tailored suit, so you feel comfortable and identify with the piece.
When I decide to use recycled gold instead of mined gold, or when I cast and create the alloy myself at the workshop so there are no intermediaries that might add harmful substances to its composition that could harm your skin... that's honesty.
I also select the highest quality, triple excellent diamonds of E-F colour and VVS purity that comply with the Kimberley Process and come from conflict-free countries... Honesty.
Not everyone can provide you with so much information throughout the whole process and also certify it.
- What do you like best about your work?
Jordi Rosich: That it's not a job. When I get up I never say "I'm off to work"; I say "I'm off to the workshop". The day I say "I'm off to work"... Perhaps I'll stop going.
Jordi has become a leading designer and jeweller for those who, like him, place a value on jewellery that goes beyond gold or precious stones.
He's also been recognised for his professional achievements, being given the Talent Award 2019 by Girona City Council and the Best Retailer Award 2019 by JORG, the Official College of Jewellers, Goldsmiths, Watchmakers and Gemmologists of Catalonia.
It's been a year, now, since he received these awards. It was around November 3rd... Saint Eloy's Day, the patron saint of jewellers. What a wonderful profession.
Thank you, Jordi, for your honesty - also in this interview.