Carrera Y Carrera craftsmen are sculptors who cast in gold with imagination and skill

In the Spanish capital the Carrera family is sculpting jewels of distinction. Since 1885 it has been building statuesque collections of a sculptural finesse that is Carrera Y Carrera's distinguishing mark. The exquisitely carved finery of the company which bears the family name evokes the wonder and the splendour of its mythological origins and brings to the most classical images a style that is uniquely and identifiably its own.

It was the Carrera family who brought the first lapidary workshop to Spain in the late 1800s. so the Spaniards were introduced to the art of professionally cutting, polishing and engraving precious stones by a young Carrera who learnt the beautiful lapidary craft in Paris. With no sons of his own, this Carrera decided to take on a nephew as apprentice and later this nephew's brother. As the workshop grew so too did its renown, and the pioneering role of the Carreras in the painstaking art of setting gems became widely acclaimed.

By the 1970's six Carreras were working in the jewellery trade. Two young family members decided to weld their creativity, experience and knowledge of the market. Carrera Y Carrera, SA was conceived from their union and into it was channelled nearly one hundred years' learning in the trade.

Already the list of prizes and distinctions awarded to the company is impressive. They range from gold medals for Export awarded by the Chamber of Commerce in 1977, 1983, 1984 and 1985 and first prize at the Town Hall, Madrid in 1987, 1988 and 1989, to international prizes such as the "IV International Asia Award" in 1984, a Kaneko Trophy in Japan in the same year and First Prizes, Jewellery and Silversmith "Eurodesign" and " Goldsmith Design" at the 1985 Basel Fair. In 1989 Carrera Y Carrera even rated a special mention from the then US President, Ronald Reagan.

Carrera Y Carrera has grown exponentially since its inception. Jewels are designed, manufactured and shipped for distribution from the headquarters and factory-workshop in Madrid. Its jewellery creations are available through exclusive distributors in countries around the globe including America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and even Australia. Quality is guaranteed as attested by the guarantee card which accompanies every item sold.

Carrera Y Carrera's work draws on a rich cultural heritage. The Greeks whose influence on the company's work is not merely thematic, understood long ago that creating jewellery, can be a sculptural art. Greek jewellers recognised in gold a ductile material which they, like the Egyptians and Mesopotamians before them, worked into a magnificent array of shapes.

The Phoenicians, well apprenticed by the Egyptians, colonised Spain about 1000BC leaving the famous Aliseda Treasure to testify to their craftsmanship and later, between about 900 and 600 BC, Celts, and Greeks settled there. Four hundred years on Spain was conquered by the Romans and it became a leading province of the Roman Empire. The jewellery the Romans brought with them tended to be more splendid and heavy than was Greek jewellery, bedecked with gems rather than finely sculpted or, like the Celtic legacy, embellished with highly stylized design motifs. They were not the last invaders to adorn the Peninsula - the barbarian Visigoths are remembered for their liberal use of gold, pearl and sapphires. So even in pre-Colombian days, before Spanish conquerors sought gold in the land of the Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru, and looted a goldmine of emeralds as well, Spain was home to a cultural variety which is resplendent in the jewels uncovered from its treasure trove.

Carrera Y Carrera craftsmen are sculptors who cast in gold with imagination and skill. They employ a range of materials for their work: gold, pearls, emeralds and diamonds sit side-by-side with turquoise, rubies and sapphire. Irregularly shaped fresh-water pearls form heads of hair, voluminous capes, feather head-dresses and flighty wings. The results are distinctive for their delicacy and elegance as well as for their magnificent textures. Satin finish gold, a rare and alluring technique, highlights sinuous curves and brings enriching contrast to brightly polished gold and brilliant gems. Classical and traditional images, nature and the human form, are evoked with inspired originality. Although heavily derivative of some of the world's most incredible myths and literary and artistic creations, the work of Carrera Y Carrera is stylistically consistent and distinctively contemporary.

The free-flowing designs of recent collections are reminiscent of fin-de-siecle Art Nouveau but invested with new vigour are more precious still. The Art Nouveau motif - pre-Raphaelite woman with voluminous flowing hair, so imaginatively rendered by Lalique - is featured by Carrera Y Carrera. She wears a diamond on her forehead and her polished golden locks envelope a satin finish face and arm adorned with ruby bracelet.

As in Art Nouveau, the world of flora and fauna is a dominant theme but languid reptiles and glaucous beasts are replaced with dynamic depiction of nature in all its rhythmic force. In the Carrera Y Carrera menagerie horses with flowing polished golden manes neigh, inlaid leopards prowl, ruby-eyed jaguars stalk, athletic pumas pounce and lions roar through emerald grass, while gold and silver swans glide gracefully, diamond studded eagles prey, and dolphins swirl into golden rings. Jeanne Toussaint's passion for transforming the feline world into precious jewels is echoed in this animal kingdom, bringing to mind the famous Cartier golden panther, flecked with black enamel and sprawling in luxuriant ease on a 90 carat cabochon emerald, bought by the Duke of Windsor and worn by his wife, the Duchess.

For Carrera Y Carrera animals span the ages, the horse is a prime example. From Pegasus to modern day horse racing, in the expressive jaws and dynamic movement, in the C-shaped horseshoe, lies the motif for Carrera Y Carrera's craft.

Animals and insects, linked with deep magical and superstitious beliefs since the earliest times in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, have been portrayed in jewellery often worn for religious purposes or to ward off evil spirits. Carrera Y Carrera includes a range of religious motifs in its exquisite collections which feature dancing cherubim, satin finish golden innocents with plump faces and brightly polished golden hair, diamond studded harps and lyres, and golden angels with diamond encrusted silver wings.

All-time literary favourites from Shakespeare to the Brothers Grimm and Walt Disney populate Carrera Y Carrera collections, with Romeo and Juliet and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs fashioned in gold, pearl and diamonds. Images from Victorian and Renaissance art are perfectly cast. The primitive beauty of the American-Indian is suggested in an elaborate pearl-feathered head-dress, but it is in the biblical and mythological figures of classical antiquity that the brilliant lustre of the sculptors imagination fully emerges.

The statuesque Moses of Carrera Y Carrera's imagination is a commanding figure, cast in gold and adorned with rich red rubies suggesting the blood-red Nile, variegated pearl reflecting the flickering burning bush, and diamond source of his fantastic power. Mounted on turquoise, colour of the miraculous water which flowed from a desert rock, Moses carries a golden staff, instrument of power, his hand is outstretched to part the waters which threaten the Israelites' safe passage. A diamond encrusted snake slithers around his feet. Exodus is evoked in this exquisite sculpture, which tells the story of the shepherds crook, 'sign of wonder', with which God empowered Moses at the burning bush and promised to deliver Israel from the oppression of Egypt.

From the Greek pantheon and the pages of Homer, comes a collection of divinities and mythological personages. A superbly carved golden Icarus in flight, hair adrift and mouth open, cries out as his pearly wings melt with the heat of the sun. An ornate Leda is swathed in dazzling white pearl. The wings of Zeus, a diamond encrusted, ruby-eyed golden swan, hold her tightly. so the god of the luminous ether seduced Tyndarcus' wife, deity of night, in a pool of dazzling whiteness. On Leda's cloak the diamond-studded winged faces of Zeus' children, Helen and Pollox, are superbly arranged with diamond, ruby and emerald flowers. A winged satin finish golden Pegasus, messenger of the gods, moves swiftly with flying polished gold mane and tail, and brightly polished hooves. Perhaps he ascends Olympus to carry Zeus' thunderbolts. The Roman pantheon conceives Venus, goddess of beauty and love, reflected in ecstasy - in gold, pearls and diamonds. A slender Minerva, goddess of Wisdom, is carved and adorned with gems.

The sculptural quality which distinguishes Carrera Y Carrera jewellery has also been integrated into designs for watches. Cartier, Mellerio, Mauboissin, Gubelin and Boucheron proved decades ago that the watchband and timepiece could be an elaborately decorative jewel, but never before has a wrist watch been conceived of as a sculpture. Carrera Y Carrera's new collection named "It's Time for Art" demonstrates its conviction that the traditional concept of a watch can evolve. Like many of Carrera Y Carrera's creations, the designs for this series of watches are inspired by two strong thematic influences: animals and the human body. Horse, eagle and jaguar heads, lithe-bodied pumas and leopards or delicate hands and erotic male and female silhouettes are elegantly carved around the watchface.

Every watch in this collection, created using the latest in Swiss technology - is manufactured in 18 carat gold. The watch box averages 25-30 grams of gold and each unit is carved and treated as a precious jewel by fine craftsmen. Distinctive design elements include black enamel to depict leopard skin spots, diamonds for the eyes and to indicate time and shining gold watch dials as well as the original mother-of-pearl and black enamel faces. Watchbands complement the designs in traditional leather from rich rust hues through to midnight or gold bracelets sometimes adorned with diamonds or pearls.

The art of steel engraving used for Carrera Y Carrera's watch making and developed after many years of research is exclusive to the company. Precision workmanship edges the steel watchface with intricately detailed engraved figures and a thick sapphire glass guarantees that the watch is hard wearing and waterproof.

Carrera Y Carrera's timepiece charts the ages. Dexterous craftsmanship embellishes techniques and folklore dating back to classical antiquity with all the wizardry of modern technology. A golden watchface adorned with precious and semi-precious stones reflects diverse cultural traditions spanning centuries, each gem representing an icon in the jeweller's fertile imagination. As the delicately carved hands dance to Greenwich time, Carrera Y Carrera are sculpting a timeless form of art.