Jewellery designer to stars speaks to City Times about his passion

MELBOURNE-BASED JEWELLERY designer Anthony Troiano, who counts Motley Crue's Tommy Lee, Adam Lambert and Cara Delevingne among his celebrity patrons, tells City Times he ventured into designing in 2013 to fulfil a personal desire for a particular style of ring.
"I have always loved jewellery, especially large rings which were hard to find. I wanted an extremely large lion ring, which I looked all over the world for and could not find anything big enough, so I decided to make one myself! I began researching techniques on making silver jewellery and wax carving, and I practiced carving my own waxes and oxidizing, buffing and polishing my rings."
Troiano's creativity paid off handsomely when guitarist Scott Holiday from the US band Rival Sons spotted his huge lion ring on Instagram. "He fell in love with it and ordered one right away, now he never takes it off! The doors to Hollywood opened and celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Adam Lambert, Joe Manganiello, Tommy Lee, Lenny Kravitz, plus many more wanted to wear my rings. They love the fact that the designs are so big and bold, and that they are statement pieces."
THE 'TERMINATOR' GETS EXCLUSIVE RING
Schwarzenegger, who is currently making waves with his return to the role of the world's most famous cyborg, the T-800 in Terminator Genisys, has been wearing Troiano's exclusive Terminator Skull ring to premieres of the film the world over.
"I customise the piece of jewellery to the wearer and their personality. I knew Arnold Schwarzenegger loved huge Skull rings as he is a 'larger than life' personality so I custom-made him four Skull rings, all of which were 130 grams of solid silver and had 11mm ruby eyes. I'd noticed that I hadn't seen Arnold ever wearing a Terminator Skull ring, and I asked him if he would like me to make him one - to which he said yes right away and I was commissioned to make a one-of-a-kind Terminator Skull ring for the release of the Terminator Genisys movie. It took around three months to create the ring, a replica of the T-800 Terminator from the movie with the inscription, 'Arnold Schwarzenegger TERMINATOR Limited Edition 1 of 1' on the band."
Troiano says he is particularly fond of motifs like skulls, lion heads, Julius Caesar, King Tutankhamun and Zeus for his designs. "These are all symbols of strength and power. I have always been fascinated with history and loved seeing statues of these figures in museums and art galleries. That inspired me to create designs no one had made before."
DUBAI BECKONS!
Given that so many celebs are taking a fancy to his designs, does he have any special plans for the future?
"My ultimate goal is to develop the brand internationally with the help of the celebrities who currently wear my pieces, and build a global client base. Watches and apparel may also be on the cards for the brand in the future."
Dubai is in his sights too.
"I have been to Dubai, it is one of my favourite places to visit in the world. I was lucky enough to stay in the Burj Al Arab two years ago and cannot wait to come back to visit. I would love to market my designs in Dubai; I think it is the perfect place to do so." For more info on Anthony's designs, check out www.ajtjewellery.com.au

Tommy Lee is among the stars who are fans of Anthony’s work.