Using her grandfather's tool box, Irmela began her apprenticeship at fourteen years of age. "I started working in brass, " Irmela remembers. "I sawed and filed and filed and sawed for all of seven weeks. I cut paper and bent wires each day and from the brass dust I was green up to my elbows!"
Irmela Neumann's perseverance paid off. She created her first original piece of jewelry, a gold and pearl ring for her mother, and she has been designing and producing unique and interesting pieces ever since. "Handmade jewelry does not mean half-way," says Irmela, who loves working in high quality colored gems an who recently created a tourmaline piece in greens, reds and pinks, set in 18 karat gold. "And I always like to sprinkle a few fine diamonds in my pieces," she says.