About The Designer

Katrin Zimmermann, jewelry designer in New York City

Katrin, the designer of Ex Ovo, was born in Germany, and educated in Switzerland, England and China. While studying Chinese and Archaeology, she lived in China and traveled extensively in the Far East. Katrin came to New York for a vacation in 1991 and was immediately captured by the spirit of the city. The decision to study Jewelry Design at FIT in New York meant a complete change in the direction of her career. In 1992, she founded Ex Ovo, and in 1998 she was accepted to the prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).

Katrin speaks four languages and has lived on three continents in several countries. The exposure to so many different cultures is evident in her approach to design and is distilled into the striking simplicity of her pieces. She draws inspiration from a base that is multicultural, but her constant search for innovation makes each piece truly modern.

Katrin’s strongest influence is the Art and Cultural Heritage of the Far East. The focus of her design aesthetic is reduction; the emphasis on the essence of a stone, an organic shape or the inherent qualities of a material, whether synthetic or natural. The idea is to bring out singularity through simplicity.

"The beauty of an object lies in its uniqueness. My pieces have an inner tension of asymmetry–something I love to emphasize in my designs. I also juxtapose materials: soft intimate leather with the clear brilliance of silver; the classicism of semi-precious stones modified with modern acrylic. I am trying to redefine the reasons for wearing jewelry, to give it new meaning. Jewelry can say more about one’s personality than most people acknowledge. It should never be an afterthought".

Katrin lives in Harlem with her daughter, and is also a professor in the Fine Arts Department at Pratt Institute.

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