Markku Laulaja

Goldsmiths 1987 - 2015

Each goldsmith of the year has their own individual idiom and method of working. The jewellery and items were created using various methods: handcrafting, drilling, sawing, forging, casting. For many, modern 3D-technology has opened doors to unlimited possibilities for new design. Over the decades, goldsmiths and silversmiths have shaped many unique pieces of luxury jewellery, but have also worked with mass production.

Goldsmith of the Year 2016

The smiths are connected by their passion, quality and an uncompromising attitude towards their work. They don't cut corners; instead, they will labour over even the smallest detail. A journey through the Brilliant! exhibition will uncover experimentation, the search for novel ideas, respect for traditions and international success stories. The smiths' works have been given as gifts to members of royal families and to popular figures who have divided popular opinion, such as the Shah of Iran and Diana, Princess of Wales. Throughout the decades, the jewellery has featured in well-respected, international exhibitions and in private collections.

1980 1990 2000 2010

1999 Kirsti Doukas 1998 Toivo Valkama 1997 Pekka Kiviluoto 1996 Alpo Tammi 1995 Juha Janger 1994 Jukka Ailio 1993 Morris Lindblom 1992 Markku Laulaja 1991 Markku Mäki 1990 Raimo Nieminen

Master silversmith Markku Laulaja has harnessed silver to form a bishop’s pastoral staff and serving dishes for the President of the Republic of Finland’s official residence. Laulaja has brought designs by famous artists, such as Timo Sarpaneva and Tapio Wirkkala, to life. Both the artists and items required the silversmith to work confidently and flawlessly with a hammer. Laulaja has always had a steady hand. It all started with a small, round copper elephant. Over the years at Kultakeskus, Laulaja has been entrusted with demanding specialist works made of silver, gold, ebony, diamonds and sapphires. He has learnt much from his work. Once you find the limits of the old methods, you have to be creative in finding new ones. Even radical ones. Work on a single, flawless piece can take dozens and dozens of hours, but once the work is complete, it will last hundreds of years.