The years passed, whetting his curiosity. Still, his interest lay never with the finished object but the vibrato with which he might suffuse it. Scrutinise, disassemble, reassemble, always seeking to instil balance where there was none. Gemmology found him more than he found gemmology, then jewellery-making. His hands explored each link, each setting, as though they were pieces of delicate engineering that obeyed an invisible logic. He imagined watches like jewels and jewels akin to objects of time; creations made not to be worn but experienced, their beauty all the greater for the silence of their making. Gemstones spoke the same language of precision, patience, iterations and harmony. He sharpened his gaze, learned to master the obvious — and avoid its pitfalls. Indeed, his creativity springs from precisely this tension between taking control and letting go. He later went on to win First Prize for Design at the JA International Jewelry Show in New York.