A Most Fruitful Visit to the Grand Old Man of Finnish Jewelry — Esko Timonen

Did you know that Tapio Wirkkala spoke so quietly that his students only knew he was saying good morning if his moustache was moving?

As spring arrives, it feels like the perfect time to revisit a special early summer trip — our journey to meet one of the living legends of Finnish jewelry, Esko Timonen, in Jyväskylä. In mid-May 2024, we travelled nearly 300 kilometers from Helsinki to his home in central Finland.

Esko Timonen had visited GAo ShAn gallery in 2019. Back then we were located on the same street in Helsinki as the Design Museum. I happened to be away at an exhibition opening that day, and missed the chance to meet him. Now, five years later, the long-awaited meeting finally happened — in true Finnish tempo.

The visit turned into unearthing a treasure trove of information, insights, and stories about Finnish jewelry and its makers.

“That jewelry piece was made by Juha Tynell! He’s the son of designer Paavo Tynell. We used to compete to see who could create the largest gold plate by pouring gold onto an asbestos tile and seeing who could make it spread the furthest. Juha managed to do it!” Esko laughs.

In his early eighties, Esko radiates positive warmth and happily shares his insights on jewelry teaching and culture in Finland, of which he has over half a century of experience. I feel fortunate to have met with him on a visit that turned out to last seven hours! That’s what happens when two people share a true passion.

Esko was not shy of dropping delightful little stories of significant people he has been involved with. Remarkably, Esko is still well aware of his former students' whereabouts.

”Every student has a special gift that you can notice already from their first student works. My role as teacher was to strengthen and nurture that gift,” Esko told me.

He was delighted in recounting anecdotes about the many notable figures he has worked with.

“I know almost everyone still active in the Finnish jewelry field. Many were my students. Every student’s first assignment reveals something unique about their talent. My job as a teacher was to spot it, nurture it, and help it grow.”

I personally believe that most people, if not all, have at least one teacher who deeply influences their path. For many, Esko is that teacher.

“Teaching at the goldsmith’s school was nothing like teaching in regular schools. We became friends. Many students shared their worries with me. I even got to know their parents. We often talked about personal things.”

Esko’s former students speak of him with great affection. He taught in Lahti and Kuopio, even leading some compulsory courses for goldsmith apprentices outside the formal education system. In Finland, there are hardly any goldsmiths he doesn’t know. Perhaps Esko’s warmth and sociability also stems from his Karelian roots.

“My mother was from the village of Ihala in Jaakkima, which now lies across the border,” Esko said.

Esko Timonen has authored important books and chapters on Finnish jewelry and voluntarily edited several issues of a Finnish jewelry magazine — back in the days when there was no funding for cultural work.

“The Auria project [a jewelry magazine] had no budget at all. We did it entirely within the Lahti Institute of Design,” Esko said.

As a young man, he actively sought contact with masters of the previous generation — purely driven by the desire to learn, preserve, and advance the culture of his craft. He considers many of them friends: Saara Hopea, Bertel Gardberg, and others less known to the public but equally significant, like Eva Hidström.

He even showed me his meticulously kept work diaries, where he documented every hour spent — including those spent working on Tapio Wirkkala’s jewelry designs at Kultakeskus. Esko still keeps those notebooks. As he flipped through them, a look of pride and quiet joy lit up his face. It was a touching moment of witnessing someone who has lived their life’s purpose.

As Esko put it, “There would be no culture today or tomorrow without the people and events of the past.”

International interaction appreciated

“You’ve done so much international work for Finnish jewelry!” Esko exclaimed when I showed him a picture of works by one of our gallery artists, followed by works from other current gallery artists.

“Nice!” Esko remarked, immediately launching into yet another story!

”If you asked me of students who I like most, Terhi Tolvanen is one of them. She has earned her living through art. About 20-30 years ago she started to make jewelry of wood and setting some tourmaline in them, Esko recalled. Today, Terhi Tolvanen is an internationally recognized artist, with works in the collections of the V&A in London and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, among others.

One thing that slightly saddens Esko is the decline in educational opportunities in the field today. The international cooperation he was once actively involved in has diminished in recent years within the realm of contemporary jewelry. Greater recognition of jewelry as an art form also remains on his wish list, despite decades of effort by passionate people.

“You have quite a collection!” Esko said when I showed him images of the works by our exhibiting artists.

As if to prove that the art of jewelry-making never truly leaves you, Esko invited me to visit his countryside workshop next time.

This journey to Jyväskylä was about stories — and about sharing the insights that Esko’s written archives, as extensive as they are, might never capture.

Before we left, Esko asked me: “What are your plans for the future?”

“I’d love to continue growing, of course, let more people know about Finnish craft culture and hope to pass it on, but it’s quite a challenge. Running a gallery in a special way is not easy. Also at same time it’s not easy to find eye-catching work from the younger generation. GAo ShAn has recently expanded into decorative arts — a historically rich field in Finland where jewelry has always played an important role, though few people know about it. Also, general Finnish thinking of jewelry is still think with traditional way connected with value not the art. I’m still deeply passionate about contemporary art jewelry and want to do more. But without external support, it’s exhausting to keep things going,” I told him.

“You need to find a rich patron!” he quipped, ever the optimist.

Let’s wish Esko — our shared treasure and torchbearer of jewelry culture — continued health and passion for many years to come.

Curator . Ding Yi