Catharina Wittenstein Works

Katya dichroic fused glass jewelry's elegantly contemporary style is what makes each piece wearable poetry. Every sleek color and style is stunning both with casual and formal wear, making each item an indispensable addition to any jewelry collection. No matter the color of a customer's dress or eyes, Katya is sure to have a selection of vivid, matching colors, or deliciously dramatic contrasting pieces sure to make heads turn. The riveting beauty of Katya's glass stones has inspired her friends and fans to invent the term "dichroic glass opals", comparing her mesmerizing colors to the dazzling precious stones that have entranced people for centuries. The stones' beguilingly rich color is perfectly accented by the bezel's streamlined simplicity of design.

"The way that each sunrise is different, so too are my pieces; they shift with the light, taking on subtle color variations. A piece that appears blue may change to violet at another angle, or teal at yet another. Living on the water, each day I see the sunset colors play along the waves; now blue, green, violet; now peach, amber, gold; now burning scarlet with autumn orange trailing behind. These are the colors that nature inspires, colors seen nowhere else but in my jewelry, as I strive daily to capture a single, individual moment of luminous beauty in every opalescent bead."  - Katya    

Born in Denver, Colorado, Katya lived in Germany, Italy, and Wales before settling in Sausalito, California. She is now a full-time glass artist whose unique work is collected internationally. The rich elegance of Katya's European heritage is evident in all of her creations; Katya draws on ancient custom and beauty, translating it exquisitely into alluring contemporary design. Each season this aesthetically gifted artist combines her fascination with fashion and personal style with her love of color to create opulent, innovative lines of wearable art that can only be called "Elegantly Contemporary".

The stones in Katya’s jewelry are actually hand-made, dichroic fused glass beads. Careful to preserve the bubbles, ripples, and delicate shade variations that are inevitable in hand-blown glass, she uses them as design elements. Katya uses as many as eight pieces of glass of various hues, densities, and transparencies to create a single bead. Each glass piece is cut into a specific shape, and then together they are fired in a kiln at 1,600º Fahrenheit. The pieces are then ground and heat polished. This complex process is what gives her beads the rich quality of precious stones and makes each piece a unique work of art.

"To own one of Katya's originals is to own a piece of the sky itself; Katya captures nature's essence— each of the elements; the turn of seasons, the sound of wind in the trees, and the shifting, glimmering colors of ocean sunsets are caught in these vivid pieces."  —An avid fan and collector