An unparalleled view of the Rocky Mountains is what inspires jewelry designer, gemologist & goldsmith Scott Keating to produce award-winning designs, such as The Diamonds of Distinction  DeBeers Award. An avid outdoorsman, Keating’s love is working in "nature's backyard" forming his creative vision. Originally from Chicago, Scott moved to Aspen after studying with renown goldsmith, Robert Von Neumann, at The University of Illinois - Champaign Urbana.

These were the days of hipster Indian jewelry traders rubbing elbows with pranksters like Hunter S. Thompson & counter cultural icons in The Hotel Jerome Bar. Scott began by making silver & turquoise jewelry, learning gold & platinum techniques along the way. By the mid 80’s, he opened a custom design salon attracting loyal clientele from jet-set celebrities such as Jack Nicholson, Jimmy Buffett, Glen Frey, Cher, Jill St. John, Taylor Swift & Queen Latifah. A wholesale business emerged to widen his reach worldwide. Today, Scott creates one-of-a-kind pieces in Basalt, as well as product design & sourcing for colleagues internationally.

A native of Chicago, Keating studied design and engineering at the University of Illinois under the late master goldsmith Robert Von Neumann. It was there he met his wife, sculptor Nancy Lovendahl. The couple moved to Aspen in 1973 where Scott's early career started by designing and making silver jewelry at his one showcase shop. As the years passed and Scott's talents expanded, soon he was working in only precious stones and gold. By 1978, he established his own design salon in Aspen, later moving it 20 minutes away to Basalt in 2000.

Those years of making one-of-a-kind custom pieces evolved into a strong foundation of designs. Keating became inspired to put them together to create a signature collection. He reorganized his business to become a wholesale venture to focus on this collection. During these years, his reputation earned him numerous design awards, such as “The Diamonds of Distinction" award from De Beers and a "Designer of the 90's" award from Jeweler's Circular-Keystone Magazine, a prestigious “Spectrum” award from The American Gem Trade Association plus invitations to industry memberships, such as The American Jewelry Design Council.

Scott currently balances his time developing new designs in his Colorado studio and retail boutique with world-wide travel for special projects in product development and sourcing for industry colleagues.  His recent retail breakthrough line, The Viewpoints Collection, features bridal jewelry, rings, earrings, necklaces and bracelets set with round brilliant diamond channels and diamonds tucked into the corners of a “circle within a square” motif of metalwork.  “I designed these pieces to be an embracing union of two forms, the circle within a square symbolizing the connection between two people,” says Keating.   

Beside Egyptian and Deco influences, Scott says that nature is probably the single most important source for his creations. All of his designs are proportioned using the same size relationships in nature, used in many artists' work from the Renaissance known as Sacred Proportions or Sacred Geometry. Leonardo DaVinci's artwork is a classic example of Sacred Proportions, as his "Vitruvian Man" is a well known example. He says his goal is to live in harmony with nature and this philosophy brings spirituality to his pieces, with motivation to produce designs of integrity and inspiration to the wearer. He asserts that "I find inspiration in earth metals and stones, and by adding my love of jewelry making, translates the work into wearable art for human nature."  

All designs feature green values such as, non-conflict diamonds and ethically mined precious metals, as well as donating a portion of company annual profits to cultural and social causes, to add to the Scott Keating Jewelry love of the world in which we live. 

Stay tuned to learn who our 2018 donation recipient will be!  Last year, The Claudette Carter ARTmentors, hosted at the ART BASE, received our support for the studio mentorship of high school juniors considering a career in the visual arts.  These at-risk students experience financial and learning needs that become supported while working with artist mentors one-on-one during the school year.  Mentees are shown the terrain of being an artist in the world by those who have walked the path and made a choice to focus their careers in this way.  We are honored to continue our support for such a community based project. http://theartbase.org 

You are welcome to join us and become a part of The Scott Keating Jewelry experience, too!