Kwame Gamal Mascarenhas Gomes Monteiro, 45 years old from Cape Verde, began his apprenticeship in shaping wire using pliers in 1997, in Brazil (where he graduated in Physical Education), with three “crazy people from BR” (nomadic artisans) from Bahia – the Marquinhos, Zulu and Lúcia – with whom he learned the techniques of “twisting” the wire, the embedding of objects, the basis of filigree and the technique of artisanal production in series, having also learned to apply physical concepts (stability) and mathematics (calculation of harmonization of different pieces in the same integrating piece and the proportionality between the pieces) to artisanal production with an Argentine “crazy” - Jonas -, in addition to having “drunk” on the pieces of all the costume jewelry artisans/jewelers, “crazy” or not, with whom he has come across to this day.
From 1997 to 2008 he only worked with alpaca and copper wire, using the wire format at the tip of the pliers and assemblies based on pure embedding (without the use of welding to stabilize joints), with the use of stones and beads as elements of beautification.
In 2009, he attended a training internship in basic gold and silver jewelry techniques in the workshop of Mr. Daniel Fernandes, with his assistants Adi and Di (and always advised by his cousin D. Tete), in which he learned how to cast, make wire, rings and plates, welding, as well as finishing techniques (filing, sanding, polishing and shining).
By associating classic jewelry techniques with the art of the South American “crazy people from BR”, it gave rise to a new style which, moving away from the “usual” jewelry sold in Cape Verde, is now called “CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY OF CAPE VERDE”, where the main characteristic highlighted is the irreverent boldness in the design of the pieces and the insertion of national materials (unconventional in jewelry), such as shells, corals, teeth, volcanic stones, sibitxi, sea stones and some national minerals and also the valorization of traditional Cape Verdean design (pano d'óbra).
