FRANK PATANIA SR.:(1899-1964)

Italian born designer Frank Patania Sr. was born in 1899 in Messina, Italy and was one of the greatest jewelry masters of our time. A perfectionist with an INCREDIBLE "eye for design", Frank didn't just make those 'Timeless" pieces of jewelry, but because of his mathematical, analytical, architectural mind that was backed by technical knowledge, he knew what he could do and what he couldn't do to make an accomplished piece last forever. Designing was Frank's calling and mastered extremely old technical European techniques and married them with artistry. Starting at the extremely young age of 6,he had apprenticed as a goldsmith and worked through repetition, learning all there was to learn before moving on to the next, so he would never feel limited with all aspects of hands on workmanship and designing.

Moving to NYC from Italy at 10 years of age wasn't easy for someone that young and to have that vast of knowledge be able to find work, which was literally a hopeless situation because of child labor laws.But at the age of 19,Frank was hired as a jewelry designer for the prestigious New York firm of Goldsmith, Stern & Company. While in America in 1924 he contracted tuberculosis and the firm sent him to Santa Fe, New Mexico where he found the thriving artistic community and the healthy climate of Santa Fe to be intoxicating and chose to remain in the Southwest even after his health improved. In 1927 he regained his strength and Frank opened the first Thunderbird Shop (The other's in Tucson) where he had all the 'who's who' customers of New Mexico, with a few being "Georgia O'Keeffe, Mabel John of Taos to name just a few. After falling in love with Native turquoise jewelry, he then applied his decades of technical knowledge of working with gold, platinum to working with stones known to the southwest and setting them in sterling. The Santa Fe Thunderbird Shop developed a signature style known as the "Thunderbird Look" which is easily recognized as having a timeless and very architectural aesthetic that's classic and modernist and no matter how much time passes, his jewelry will never go out of fashion because of this. No matter how small or how big, Frank's work is "HIGHLY" Collectable and will never lose value.. His work can be found in the Smithsonian Museum's permanent collection.

A PERSONAL WORD:

There are of course, some designers that rank high on my list of favorites, but no designer has ever effected me the way Franks designs do. In fact, I have to admit he's probably my all time favorite. Frank Patania Sr. blessed us with such magnificent designs that were done in metal/stone form & showed us what great designs are truly made of and no matter how hard artists try to emulate him, no one can compare to this artist.. His name will always play a major role in regards to Santa Fe's past.

*When I pulled the photos for this listing,I found I didn't have one showing how they look on the ears like I normally have. So if you need a photo before I'm able to take one, just let me know! **