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Living in diverse habitats across the Northern Hemisphere, ravens have long been admired for their keen intelligence and ingenuity, complex vocalizations, soaring flight and long lifespans. Ravens are also a totemic inspiration for the Los Angeles-based, high luxury jewelry House of RAVN, which is co-designed and handmade by goldsmith Angela Kroeger and her husband Mike Kroeger, a GIA-certified gemologist. While the brand is characterized by a nature-inspired aesthetic and finely detailed pieces fashioned from 18-karat gold or platinum, it is further distinguished by unusual, high quality gemstones and masterful artisanal finesse. This writer caught up with the Kroegers to find out more about the roots, style, substance and spirit of their House of RAVN.
Angela Kroeger's family background helped her find her way as a jeweler. "I started learning about jewelry from my grandmother, who was a silversmith," she related. "I was in my early twenties, studying art in Vancouver, British Columbia when she showed me the basics. My grandmother gave me a strong foundation," she related, "but most of my aesthetic and technical exploration happened later, as I went on to complete a two-year jewelry program for gold-smithing and silversmithing."
After her goldsmithing program, Angela apprenticed under master goldsmiths for a few years. "I started learning wax carving in school, but my focus at the time was mainly on gold and silversmithing. I really got into wax in my late twenties," she explained. When she hand carves wax models for her work, it is a painstaking process. "As I carve it is both very visual and also so much about feel." At the beginning, she detailed, "I start quickly shaping the piece and then my work gets very slow and meticulous. For example, each chess piece for my chess sets takes months to fully realize." The Chess Set is a long-term project of hers. "I've been working on it for a few years," she enthused. "I'm loving the process of bringing each piece to life as its own character from this mystical world in my mind. The set is entirely hand-carved and cast in sterling silver, with 18-karat gold and gemstone details."
Regarding how the House of RAVN aesthetic evolved over time, Angela ventured, "I've always lived in a world rich with beauty, wonder, and enchantment. From a young age, I was captivated by animals, plants and fairytales. I never outgrew that sense of awe or the ability to see the magic around us. I see designs in literally everything. House of RAVN," she clarified, "specializes in one-of-a-kind, hand-carved pieces that are built around specific stones. While we do offer custom work," she continued, "we typically work with gold for our jewelry pieces. Most designs can be made in 18-karat yellow, white, or rose gold, and platinum. When I'm at my bench," Angela ventured, "it is my space where I try to bring these visions to life in my carvings and the gemstones my husband and I carefully select. I have a studio in Los Angeles where I do my carving, metalwork, and oil painting." Regarding the company name, she said, "Ravens are a totem animal for me -- I've always been drawn to their mystery, intelligence, and presence. I wanted the name to reflect my deep love and respect for animals."
As for Mike, who is the gemstone buyer for House of RAVN, he noted that, "Angela introduced me to the world of gemstones. What drew me in deeply was the science, the geology, the chemistry, and the incredible story of how these materials form. I started studying gemology in 1999 through the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) before my band Nickelback took off." (In 2005, Nickelback's top-selling album All the Right Reasons generated three top-10 and five top-20 singles on the Billboard Hot 100.) Mike recalled, "We paused jewelry completely for 15-plus years while we made music. In 2022, I returned to the GIA to complete my studies and attained my graduate gemologist degree in 2024."
Mike Kroeger is that rare human who has achieved great heights as a rock musician only to then morph into a jewelry rock star who works with superbly saturated colored gemstones and diamonds. "Tourmaline is one of my favorite gems to work with as it comes in just about every color, carries a lot of inclusions, and it can't be synthesized," he detailed. "The same goes for the lovely green stone peridot," he added. "Peridot can never be made in a laboratory, and I think it's one of the most underappreciated stones. I also love emeralds as they're incredibly delicate and complex; such a specific type of green beryl with just the right balance of blue and green. They're often highly fractured," he continued, "with carbon flecks and they can even have crystal inclusions within them." Those imperfections, he ventured, "make each emerald look so beautiful and feel so alive."
Angela works very closely with a master setter who hand-sets every stone. "We use a traditional style setting," she began, "which means that nothing is preset. Each stone is individually selected and set by hand, which requires a highly advanced level of craftsmanship and takes a lot more time. This process makes every piece one of a kind," she related, "as each setting is uniquely tailored to each piece. You'll see this highlighted in my mosaic-style designs, such as the Fiala Ring Classic or the Golden Saddle Ring. All of the stones are unique in size, so they must be individually laid out and set. No two rings of ours will ever be exactly the same." Angela also developed a proprietary RAVN claw setting, which her setter often uses on the brand's jewels.
It's worth noting here that each jewel in House of RAVN's Kaleidoscope collection is unique. Pieces includes such exquisite gemstones as a 79 carat aquamarine, pink sapphires, tsavorites, cabochon rubellites and diamonds. "The Kaleidoscope is one of my favorites as the gemstones in this collection are so beautiful," Mike averred. "While the Wonderland Rabbit with Monocle, from the Wildheart collection is another one of my favorites, the RAVN Skull Pendant is another piece I'm really proud of as the level of detail in Angela's carving is just spectacular. And the Fiala Hinged Cuff might be my number one favorite right now," he enthused. "The carving is so intricate, it is next-level." According to Angela, "My absolute favorite collection is the Equine collection, which is deeply inspired by my own Friesian Horse, Fiala. I especially love the Fiala Hinged Cuff," she said. "And I love the Wildheart collection, as it shows my passion for animals. and it's where I really express my imagination."
When this writer inquired as to which House of RAVN jewels Angela wears every day, the jeweler replied, "This is crazy, but I sell everything I make. Sometimes I'll say, 'This one's for me,' and then a store will request it, so I'll end up sending it out to them. That happens so often that sometimes I have none of my own jewelry to wear," she added. "Lately, I've been wearing my Roman Horse Medallion, but I think people would be surprised to know how few pieces I actually wear." For those who'd like to experience House of RAVN jewels in person, the brand is carried at Jensen and Stern in Ketchum, Idaho; Forty Five Ten in Dallas; Argyle & Valentine in Venice; Palm Beach Gems by Nicole in West Palm Beach.