Master Jeweler Russ Marks 50 Years Creating Treasures

For five successful decades, native Atlantan Barry Evan Russ, an accomplished goldsmith and platinum smith, has created magnificent jewelry. Focused on the finest standards with a nod to the past, his exquisitely designed jewelry is breathtaking. Russ lives by the motto that he is “in the business of customers, and their wishes are paramount.” To him, it’s all about the joy of making someone happy and creating something beautiful that will be enjoyed forever.

Russ’s attention to detail is a tribute to quality, precision, and a labor of love put into every piece. From fabrication to restoration and even repair, he is one of the premier go-to-resources and direct to the artist jeweler.

The year was 1975, when Russ’s career was molded, following a keen interest in the artistry of jewelry while pursuing a fine arts degree from Georgia State University. He was going to be a medical illustrator but, after taking a jewelry course, he fell instantly in love with metal. At first, most of his work was created in silver and gold. After attending a platinum workshop, he decided to specialize in it. At that time, platinum was the preferred metal due to its own special indestructible qualities. Since then, Russ has been working in platinum plus all metals for five decades and is still going strong.

Celebrating 50 Years of Making Beautiful Jewelry

Russ’s prized portfolio of pieces includes many years of making simple and complex rings, engagement and anniversary rings, remounted pendants, original pendants, bracelets, taking pieces that are inherited and remaking it and more. Unusual pieces span the gamut including a guitar and violin teacher’s wish, who wanted a symbolic reflection of their passions. He designed rings with inlay jade and mother of pearl incorporating their musical instruments into matching custom pieces which thrilled them.

As a significant part of engagements throughout time, Russ said, “To have created the engagement and wedding rings that are going to commemorate a couple’s love is another one of my greatest joys. To make something from scratch expressing their wishes given to their beloved is an honor. Every piece is a moment in time that’s filled with gratitude and a lasting symbol celebrating someone’s love for another. It can be a birthday gift, for an anniversary, arrival of a baby, and whatever it is, you can count me in.”

Russ shared, “I just want to make people happy, and joy is something that’s priceless. I have learned techniques and am dedicated to craftsmanship as well, as the inside of a ring should be as beautiful as the outside. I take the extra time to make sure everything is polished to perfection.  Whether it’s religious symbols or special engravings around wedding rings, I can do anything.”

You Dream It, He Can Create It

With his well-trained artistic background, Russ draws any imaginable design to scale. He said, “If you like the drawing, you’ll love the piece. I’m very detailed. I do a lot of work with heirlooms that are reimagined, and the stones must be proportionate to scale. I want customers to know they were listened to, and their wishes granted. I think of the piece of jewelry as something that’s forever and they can wear it or pass it down to their children and generations to come.  Platinum, for example, will last hundreds of years, although I also work in other metals.”

As an artist who is devoted to customers, Russ also feels every repair or custom order is important no matter how big or small. He wants his customers to feel important and that they are cared for. He said, “I can give them something they are proud of and making the customer happy is my goal and I have no middleman. If someone comes in with a small chain, I’m happy to fix it. It’s all important, because even a simple piece that gets put back together will be enjoyed.”

The Devoted Son of a Holocaust Survivor

Russ’s jewelry business — creating something beautiful — illustrates his talent; however, his deepest wish in life is to create beauty while honoring his beloved mother, a Holocaust survivor with a story that’s unthinkable. His childhood and family history were lovingly protected, however, grounded in a tragic history. While his mother did not ever speak of her past, Russ and his brother repeatedly asked her to share her life growing up. His mother never spoke of the horrors of the Holocaust, and yet, there came a moment when she knew she must leave a legacy to her children and the world.

Russ shared, “My four-foot eight-inch Jewish Hungarian mother, Irene W. Russ, never mentioned the Holocaust. From my earliest memories, I think of her sitting at her sewing machine making beautiful creations. She was one of the finest seamstresses you could imagine. Whether it be a genetic or spiritual connection, I wanted to match her expertise. I recall her sewing spectacular wedding gowns and exquisite dresses for wealthy people in her neighborhood. I recall a wedding dress that had 5,000 beads hand-stitched in the upper bodice. She’d alter, hem, do anything, you name it and even designed all her own clothes. Over the years, she handmade every Halloween costume for me and my brother. She created beauty and focused on us her entire life.”

Barry’s Mother’s Story was Published

In the spring of 1998, everything instantly changed. Russ’s younger brother, Daniel, received a package in the mail from their mother. It was a vinyl three-ring notebook that held his mother’s handwritten account of the 14 months of her life she spent as a prisoner in three different Nazi concentration camps. It was the first time their mother had spoken about the atrocities.

Irene’s story of survival and a tribute to the generation of survivors demonstrated how they are history’s treasures, as they fought for every breath they took to stay alive. Irene’s message and her story prevailed as a treasure, serving as a lesson of courage and faith.

As a legacy to their mother, in 2001, Barry’s brother published his mother’s story. The book entitled, “The Rest You Know – A Mother’s Story of Survival,” is Irene’s words, carefully scripted in this notebook as she wrote them. It began with, “My Beloved Children … for all these years I tried not to think, much less talk about the past … but as you were urging me to relate what happened, I came to realize that I’ve been very wrong, that you need to know.”

Daniel Russ’s book efforts inspired Barry as well to research every detail, and he traced the steps of his mother’s life during World War II. Irene’s story was one of survival as she was 17, rounded up with family, sent to a ghetto and put on a train straight to Auschwitz. The minute she got off train, Irene stood in front of Josef Mengele and since she appeared strong, she was saved. She was deemed old enough to work and was sent to Birkenau, the satellite camp next door, and then selected to work at a munitions factory called Stadt Allendorf, which secretly produced munitions and explosives in two separate large facilities. Barry’s mother was a slave laborer, and she was one of 1,000 women who survived under the most horrific conditions. The camp had two major munitions plants and spanned over 1,480 acres in size. Her story is told in this poignantly written tragic story. Irene lived to the age of 86 and she passed away in 2013 after living in The Jewish Home for 10 years.

As a survivor’s child, Barry Evan Russ continues to honor his mother’s memory creating beautiful things for living and loving. He shared, “My mother was a profile in courage. She lived a life that gave me comfort and love despite the horrors she experienced and suffered in silence for most of her life. That’s a diamond under pressure. Any time I had difficulty, tragedy, or challenges in my life, I would always say, it’s OK, I’m my mother’s son.”

Visit Barry Evan Russ at www.barryevanruss.com.