Jewellery becomes as emblematic of its wearer as any physical gesture or signature fragrance – it’s a punctuation point that goes beyond whatever else you throw on yourself that day. There’s the idea of permanence, even if there is equally the option to treat it as fashion and change it like t-shirts.

Men’s jewellery is truly having a moment, so we’re dedicating a series to our favourite creators. Nikolai Rose was formed in 2006 as a platform for creative projects by design partners Jacob Melinger and Alan Paukman. Today the sky is the limit for this New York based creative powerhouse which operates in many distinct yet interrelated modes; there’s a jewellery line, creative direction practice and an in-house design studio creating everything from silk neckties to books and doorknobs.

Read on below to discover Jacob’s passion for labour-intensive metalwork and how Nikolai Rose is driven by self-motivated art, endless research and experimentation into continuously expanding creative capabilities. Multidisciplinary doesn’t even come close.

Thomas Davis: Can you describe in your own words the aesthetic of your jewellery?
Jacob Melinger: The Nikolai Rose aesthetic is refined with an inclination towards irregularity. Our approach to design is strict, the romance of our pieces is found in their imperfections.

TD: Have you always been interested in jewellery design? At what point in your life did you decide to pursue it as a career?
JM: Not at all. A lot of modern jewellery designers grew up stringing beads in their bedrooms and this was definitely not the case for me. I have always been interested in art and went to study at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In my work, the concept has always dictated to the physical process. Over the years I’ve collected knowledge of techniques from wood joinery to fashion design as means to reach a final product. I came across small metalwork and was attracted to the labour-intensive handwork at such a restrictive scale.

At the time I had worked in a couple of different creative fields and knew that I was ready to step away and start my own practice. In 2006, Alan Paukman and I formed Nikolai Rose as a platform for us to execute projects across fashion, art and design. The accessories collection was our first project and today it remains the face of Nikolai Rose.

TD: If you were to pick signature pieces from past or recent collections, which best represent you as a designer, which would they be?
JM: Our intersecting pieces really represent the essence of Nikolai Rose. The forms that make up these pieces are simple and geometric, yet the compositions are highly complex. All of the elements in these pieces exist on different spatial planes, intersecting each other as well as the wearer’s own body at skewed angles. Suspended in motion, colliding, merging, tumbling through space. At a scale that you can hold in the palm of your hand, the spirit of these metal pieces is intensely emotional.

TD: Do you design a piece with an intended way of wearing it already in mind? How do you style your own jewellery and what do you like to see it worn with?
JM: I do design pieces with specific applications in mind. Of course this can only be carried out to a certain point.  I do not tell a client which finger to wear a ring on, or where they should attach a pin to their coat. A lot of people tell me they wear our tie bars clipped to garments because they like the forms. I welcome this, though I would never propose it.

TD: Who would be your ideal, living or not, to wear your jewellery?
JM: My ideal would be anyone who comes across the collection unexpectedly and is intrigued enough to adopt a piece themselves.

TD: You’re enthusiastic about collaborations whether that be for runway shows with other designers or for custom retail pieces. Do you have any exciting upcoming projects?
JM: Doing custom pieces for runway shows and stores are often the most gratifying collaborations. It is a chance to work with like-minded designers to realise pieces that neither individual party would create in their daily practice. We are talking with a couple fashion labels to collaborate on accessories for upcoming runway shows and hope to continue doing so in the future.

TD: How does Nikolai Rose PROJECTS, the creative solutions and direction part of the business, affect the design of your jewellery line?
JM: We approach the Nikolai Rose projects with the same direction as the jewellery collection. All of our non-fashion projects focus on materials and tangible forms. And, although the application is different, our approach to designing door hardware or books, for example, is an extension of the same principles we employ when designing jewellery.

TD: Does living in New York influence your work? 
JM: I was born and raised in New York City so to deny any influence would be false. Surroundings absorbed passively in life will indefinitely affect creative work. This is the same for jewellery designers just as it is for painters, writers, stylists or anyone who works to output original content. Still, I would never cite New York as my inspiration for the collection. Often there is more behind your eyes than there is in front of them.

TD: What pieces do you wear day-to-day – and when do you take them off?
JM: Regarding my own jewellery, I test out new pieces but for the most part I only wear a loved selection of rings. I have been wearing the same selection for a couple of years now and never take them off. If you wear a ring for long enough it becomes an extension of yourself. When you first put a new ring on it can be exciting – the imbalance of something new is exciting – but to really become comfortable wearing that piece is much more personal. I have also been having a lot of fun with Nikolai Rose pins. I switch them out on my bags and jackets all the time.

I have worn the Knife Cut Ring and Deco Ring stacked together for the longest, about seven years. I also wear the CP1919 Ring and our Round Set Ring with Onyx, a setting we do exclusively for Assembly New York. The newest addition is my Team Ring. The Team Ring is a service we recently started offering. Clients are invited to decorate any of our ring styles with text and images to make a ring style for their “team”. This can be friends, siblings, or employees, for example. It is like a motorcycle club jacket but in solid silver or gold.

DMD: Tell us something we wouldn’t expect of you…
JM: I really like to go out camping. Hiking out away from the city, building a fire and waking up in the woods is one of the best escapes.  Having a good knife is invaluable in the woods – I’d like to make a line of knives in the future.

Check out the other creatives in our series The Jewellers: Dominic Jones, Eddie Borgo, Alan Crocetti and Jordan Askill