Jason Marchiafava is a third generation Artist and Craftsman by trade. He began his training in metalsmithing and stone setting at a very young age. Under the supervision of Jeweler Tina May Schille who was and still is the head jeweler of his father and grandfathers workshop in New Jersey. Under Tina's watchful eye Jason was trained to have a strong fundamental base in working with precious metals and gemstones. With influences from his father and others working at the firm of Marche' Jewelers.
Jason has always had a keen eye for detail and showed natural ability in drawing and the use of manual dexterity for micro applications as far back as early grade school. This was apparent when he started disassembling everything from electronics to damaged, manual wind watch movements in his pre teen years to see how they worked.
By the time Jason graduated High School his skilles in the jewelry trade had matured. His father sent him to run a trade shop when he was 18 where he excelled . At the time he enrolled in County College and studied Small Businees Administration while working full time as a jeweler. At 19, hungry for more advanced skills in stonesetting and other aspects of the jewelry trade he started researching classes and began networking with other artisans. He enrolled in an Advanced Metals course at University of the Arts in Philadelphia under the instruction of Christopher Darway. Here he began to discover the "Artists'" view of metals.
A huge turning point in life came at 19 when he traveled to San Fransisco to study Advanced Bead and Pave' setting at a prominent Jewelry School. While there a jeweler friend of his introduced him to a hand engraver named Hratch Nargizian. Instantly, Jason knew that he wanted to be a hand engraver and became completely infatuated with the hand held graver. Hratch allowed Jason to observe him work in his studio for a short while and examine projects he had been working on. Uninterested in taking an apprentice at the time, Hratch suggested to Jason to sign up for his class. It was on traditional ornamental jewelry engraving in Virginia Beach at the renouned New Approach School for Jewelers. Upon starting the class Jason was completely engulfed in the cutting of floral ornaments in metal using a traditional push graver or "hand burin".
After completion of the class Jason returned and practiced non stop. Every night, for hours and months on end. He diligently persued researching classes on the subject, books, literature, and other engravers in his tri state area. In addition he studied Chasing and Repouse' with Richard Prillaman. The continuing networking and research lead him to take five classes at GRS in Emporia, Kansas under Scott Pilkington, Mike Dubber, Sam Alfano, and Christian DeCamillis. Attending both basic and advanced classes including Bulino engraving. From here his love for steel engraving began.
This still wasn't enough... In early 2002 Jason resigned his position at a large jewelry firm as a consultant and design specialist to persue a career in the gun and knife engraving trade. Upon his transition to his new career he moved to Traverse City to work under C. DeCamillis full time. This was his first real exposure to gun engraving, and Chris's influence played a fairly large role in shaping Jason's eye for detail. Especially on bulino work.
Later Jason had the oppurtunity to travel to Brescia, Italy to study the works of the great Italian Masters. While there he went to the homes and shops of Firmo and Francesca Fracassi, Manrico Torcoli, Dario Cortini(Giovanelli's), Mario Terzi, Creative Art, Stephano & Giancarlo Pedretti, and many more where he studied their work and the traditional techniques of Bulino engraving in detail. Employing both line and dot techniques in steel.
In early 2004 Jason was awarded Professional status from the Firearms Engravers Guild of America. At 24yrs old he was youngest engraver in history to recieve this award. That same year he was asked to take the place of Hratch Nargizian as the instructor of the Ornamental Engraving Class that he first attended a few years earlier.
Later that year Jason was awarded a scholarship to study Banknote and Intaglio Engraving and Etching under Christopher Madden whom now resides as the chief engraver at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving in Washington D.C. This intensely diciplined style of engraving played a huge part in influencing the refinement of his style and techniques of incising lines in metal for the purpose of printing as well as the decoration of guns, knives, jewelry, and fine time pieces. Soon afterward Jason traveled back to Italy and revisited the the Italian engravers where he saw the whole gun engraving picture in an entirely new light.
Later in 2005 Jason moved to Virginia Beach to teach full time for New Approach School for Jewelers where he worked side by side with renouned jeweler and instructor Blaine Lewis using the most advanced and cutting edge technology for training available. During which he had the oppurtunity to travel to Qingdao, China to help set up a training facility for world renouned diamond and jewelry manufacturer Dimexon Eurostar where he gave advanced training in hand set micro pave', and other advanced setting and manufacturing techniques.
In 2006 Jason moved to Pennsylvania to work with a private firm that specializes in ultra rare, colored gemstones, and museum quality, hand made jewelry.
Since moving to PA Jason 's primary focused has been to take on the most elaborate hand engraving and hand made jewelry projects available in the U.S. luxury market today.
Here is a link to a blog a friend of mine wrote about scrollwork:
http://modernheirloomfinejewelry.blogspot.com/2009/01/artful-scrolls-engraver-jason.html
These are pictures of the first gun I ever engraved. Completed within the first five weeks of moving to Traverse City.
I was an engraver prior to moving to Traverse City.
Most of the design of the above gun was produced by C. DeCamillis. I did the actual engraving.