About Alan
Regardless of his medium, Alan evidences unusual creative ability and skill in its use. His work is characterized by thoughtful planning, a good sense of color, and precise workmanship. He has original ideas which he carries out carefully, independently, and very successfully.
- Elizabeth Bingham, Alan’s 5th grade teacher
Alan Revere holds a unique position in the jewelry community, with one foot firmly planted as an award-winning designer and the other as one of the country’s most prominent jewelry educators.
Alan was born in New York City. Both of his grandfathers as well as his mother were artists and designers. Alan attended the University of Virginia, where he studied psychology, languages, and art, receiving a B.A. degree in 1969. Alan’s life came into focus after attending the Woodstock Festival, where he changed direction from law school to his life-long interest in art.
In 1970 Alan moved to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where for two years he studied art, sculpture, and crafts at the Instituto Allende. During his second year in graduate school, Alan redesigned the jewelry studio, revised the jewelry curriculum, and served as an instructor. Alan was awarded a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Universidad de Guanajuato in 1972.
The next stop on Alan’s journey was Pforzheim, Germany, where he attended the hundred-year-old jewelry school, the Fachhochschule für Gestaltung, as well as the more technical Goldschmiedeschule. For two years Alan attended classes, while working as a model maker and production jeweler.
Alan returned to the U.S. in 1974, settling in Oakland, California where he worked as a goldsmith for the trade. Over the next five, years Alan taught at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California, while developing his own collection of fine jewelry.
In 1979, Alan relocated his studio to San Francisco and established the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts, which was approved by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education. The Academy offered diploma programs with classes taught by master craftsmen and other experts. The same year, 1979, Alan exhibited his jewelry for the first time at the ACC Crafts Fair in San Francisco. For the next fifteen years, the jewelry of Alan Revere was manufactured in his workshop and available in a hundred jewelry stores and galleries nationwide.
Alan Revere has received several national and international awards for his elegant and innovative jewelry. Alan’s work is in the permanent collection of the Pforzheim Jewelry Museum (Germany), the Gemological Institute of America Museum in Carlsbad, California, and the California Crafts Collection at the Oakland Museum of California. Alan is the author of seven instructional books, a hundred magazine articles, and a series of videos for goldsmiths and jewelers.
Alan was the founder and past president of the Contemporary Jewelry Design Group (1986-2018), as well as past president of the American Jewelry Design Council (ajdc.org). Alan Revere has received three lifetime achievement awards, recognizing his deep understanding of the field and his broad influence on the contemporary jewelry scene.
Alan’s innovative jewelry from the 1980s shows up frequently on the secondary market. Upon the closure of the Revere Academy in 2017, Alan retired from teaching. Through his Facebook Group, Let’s Make Professional Jewelry with 37,000 members in over 170 countries, Alan continues to teach what he loves in his book, Professional Jewelry Making.
It is no wonder that Alan Revere is recognized by his peers and collectors as “A master’s master.”
Alan has traveled to over forty countries. He has studied five languages and speaks Spanish, German, and a bit of French. Alan Revere lives in northern California with his wife Amy.
Professional Jewelry Making - Brynmorgen Press
Professional Stonesetting - Brynmorgen Press
Professional Ring Repair - Brynmorgen Press
Professional Setting Repair - Brynmorgen Press
101 Tips for Bench Jewelers - MJSA/AJM Press
The Art of Jewelry Making - Sterling/Chapelle
Professional Goldsmithing - Van Nostrand Reinhold
Jewelry Masters / Gemstones - curated by Alan Revere for Lark Books
500 Earrings - curated by Alan Revere for Lark Books