Montealegre Atelier Jewelry

08/14/2026

08/05/2026

Something always remains.

The new Montealegre Atelier website is live.

A space for the work: sculptural silver, ethically sourced stone, and techniques carried forward from the ancient and medieval world whether Mediterranean or pre-columbian.

Explore now
www.montealegreatelier.com

08/03/2026

Vórtice.
Silver coiled by hand. Two emeralds from Colombia.
Only one exists.

07/30/2026

Jewelry is one of the oldest art forms in human history.

And the skills to make some of the pieces we love so much are disappearing.

In the UK, traditional silversmithing has been classified an endangered trade. In Colombia, the artisans of filigrana momposina, an intricate filigree tradition centuries old, are aging out with no one to replace them.

Montealegre Atelier exists to hold that line.

I'm Valerie. A scholar of medieval literature turned metalsmith, trained in Colombia. I practice the ancestral methods: sand casting, lost wax, filigrana momposina. I source as close to the origin as possible. My emeralds come from a Colombian miner whose son cuts them by hand.

Limited collections. Precious metals. Heirloom durability.

If you want jewelry made by hand, with traceable materials, built to last your lifetime, you are in the right place.

07/23/2026

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07/16/2026

Fenestra pendant. Gothic cathedral windows show such strength and frame the outer world, allow light into the dark nave. The pendant is made by pouring molten silver into sand where a mold has been created. It’s a mold that lives and births only once. Ephemeral, unlike the solid silver fenestra pendant: solid, structural, meant to endure.

07/12/2026

There was no magical moment of arriving for me. I was a student learning the art of alchemy, melting my first grams of silver and copper to make workable metal. And then I was working. And now I sit regularly at my bench creating pieces so people can wear what feels right and meaningful to them. I didn’t notice it happen. But, some day, I became a metalsmith, a jeweler who creates for people who deserve handmade.

07/10/2026

When we reached the module on filigrana momposina at Alquimia, I was curious but soon the demands, the innumerable steps, the slow, slow pace conquered me. I said I’d probably never do filigree again after school. Years later, it is probably one of the most enjoyable practices in my making.
It conquered me.