Andrew Nyce Designs

About Andrew Nyce Designs

Andrew Nyce knows metals. Trained as a Metallurgist and Materials scientist, Andrew carried out research and development on high-performance metals and ceramics for 43 years. In 2002, he formed Andrew Nyce Designs and embarked on a new career that married his passion for metals with his interest in jewelry-making and metalsmithing.

Andrew Nyce Designs crafts unique, custom-designed wedding, commitment, engagement, and men’s rings in Mokume Gane and Damascus Stainless Steel.

It was natural for Andrew to gravitate toward these unusual and complex materials.

At Andrew Nyce Designs, the joining of different metal alloys to create Mokume Gane or Damascus Stainless Steel is a metaphor for the union of two individuals who journey along a shared path in life.

Our team:

Andrew Nyce : Goldsmith and Founder
Vladimir Shuper : Master Goldsmith
Deborah Spencer : Designer and Goldsmith

Andrew Nyce

Andrew’s career as a goldsmith and jewelry designer did not follow a traditional path. For most of his professional career, Andrew worked with exotic materials in the realm of science and engineering.

Andrew holds B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Metallurgy and Materials Science. And he founded and managed a highly successful advanced materials consulting R&D firm. Through the years, he occasionally created art and jewelry from these high-tech materials.

In the mid-1990's, Andrew considered taking formal jewelry-making courses. But, the demands of running his firm prevented him from pursuing this interest. At the start of the new millennium, two years before selling his business, Andrew made the leap and began taking jewelry-making classes at the Maine College of Art.

Upon selling his company in 2002, Andrew pushed headlong into jewelry-making with the same dedicated approach that he brought to his former career. In the jewelry studio, Andrew found that he was able to balance his artistic side with his scientific side.

Along with additional coursework at the Maine College of Art, Andrew has immersed himself in carefully selected intensive jewelry workshops that focus on design and technique. He also has undertaken hundreds of hours of private lessons with master goldsmiths and teachers including Tim McCreight, Pauline Warg, Jean Paterak, Ann Hollerbach, Paulette Werger, Blaine Lewis, Kate Wolf, Phil Piorier, Steve Midgett, and James Binnion.

Adhering to a motto of continuous learning and scientific discovery, Andrew has embarked on several collaborative research projects designed to advance the state of the art of jewelry-making for practicing jewelers. These projects have provided Andrew with knowledge and experience that make him a better goldsmith.

Along with his co-authors, Andrew was presented with a collaborative research award from the Santa Fe Symposium on jewelry manufacturing technology in both 2005 and 2007.

Other highlights of Andrew’s distinguished professional career include:

• Five US and Foreign patents
• Published over 200 reports and articles
• Designed commercial scientific equipment
• Co-founder of a scientific equipment company
• Co-founder of WebMagnetics, an Internet company
• Visiting Assistant Professor - University of Maryland
• Centennial Fellow of Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
• Amos Tuck executive training program - Dartmouth College

Vladimir Shuper

Vladimir Shuper began his career in Jewelry making as an apprentice, immediately after graduating from college, at the age of 28. He worked as a bench jeweler with the same jewelry store in Moscow, Russia for 12 years until moving to Portland, Maine in 1991.

After holding several positions as a bench jeweler in Portland, Vladimir took a position with Brown Goldsmiths in Freeport, Maine and remained there for 18 years. In 2010, he joined Jewelry Trade Technical Services in Portland to work for Gary Roe. At JTTS, Vladimir worked on a variety of custom jewelry projects including stone setting and fabricating Mokume Gane and Damascus rings for Andrew Nyce Designs.

When the opportunity to work full time for Andrew Nyce Designs presented itself, Vladimir accepted. He joined Andrew Nyce Designs as a senior Master Goldsmith with responsibility for fabrication and stone setting of custom designed rings. Vladimir will work with Andrew Nyce on new Damascus and Mokume ring and jewelry designs as well as in making Mokume Gane billets and designing new Damascus patterns.

He brings a new dimension to Andrew Nyce Designs with his 32 years as a Master Goldsmith. Vladimir is proficient in all phases of fabricating jewelry using all types of precious metals and gemstone settings. His skill set includes laser welding and stone setting.

Vladimir is fascinated by the creative possibilities of working on custom pieces of Mokume Gane and Damascus Steel. He is always looking for new designs and new ways of fabricating jewelry and is excited to be working with customers who want unique custom ring designs.

Deborah Spencer

Deborah Spencer is an award winning Jewelry Designer and Goldsmith who brings her innovative and exciting techniques to the Andrew Nyce Designs team. This opportunity was a natural fit for Deborah who jumped at the chance to bring her vision to the New Balance Collection of Asian inspired Mokume Gane earrings and pendants. The theme of the collection resonates strongly with Deborah.

Deborah grew up in the artist mecca of Halibut Cove, Alaska, where she still spends part of the summers with her husband Ed, and other various family members. In her youth she was greatly influenced by local artists, Alex Combs and Ron Senungetuk. In 1974, when she combined the sculptural aspect of carving a wax model with the ability to turn it into a beautiful piece of wearable art, there was no looking back.

Deborah’s distinctive designs have landed her two prestigious Spectrum Awards from the American Gem Trade Association, and she has been featured in numerous trade journals worldwide.

In 2006 Deborah joined two friends, Mary Wong and Kathe Mai and together they opened Trios Studio, a fine jewelry design studio in Lake Oswego, Oregon.