ARMENIAN HAND ENGRAVER CREATES FASCINATING JEWELRY

Daily Sabah, Turkey
Feb 17 2015

DAMLA KAYAYERLI

Berc Melikyan is one of the most renowned goldsmiths and hand engravers
who continues to keep the art of “kalemkarlık” (hand engraving)
alive in Turkey. “So far, no one has been able to make jewelry like
I do. Nobody can do it!” he said. For years, Melikyan has exhibited
great patience and focus to meticulously craft jewels from precious
metals by engraving them with an iron pencil, which is thinner than
a strand of hair, in his small workshop. He has left his mark on
engraved diamonds, and famous goldsmiths still run after him.

The popularity of his hand-made diamonds has spread to faraway lands,
but his name was ironically unknown until he, in his own words,
“fought” to become well-known. Melikyan, 55, has been working as a hand
engraver with his iron pencil for the last 40 years, and his talent
has enabled him to create his own engraving style. At the age of 14,
Melikyan began working as an apprentice at the famous Cuhacı Inn in
Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar.

Initially, he learned the craft of “sadekarlık” (lapidary). As a
child, his dreams were filled with patterns and the appearance of
horses, lions and eagles. Those who noticed his talent used to say he
should become a hand engraver. However, the art of hand engraving is a
rather effortful task. At that time, there were hardly any craftsmen
that were willing to accept apprentices, but later, he began to work
with master craftsman Mardiros Halyacyan. Melikyan’s eyes filled with
tears and became emotional when he started talking about his past.

“You have to carefully watch your master for three or four years. You
should not touch his pencils, though; it is disrespectful. I always
had great respect for him,” he said. Similar to Halyacyan, he started
running his own small workshop with a little light at the Cuhacı Inn.

“I was shocked at first. When you imagine the world of jewelry, it
looks so glamorous. However, there is a big contrast between jewelry
workshops and the glitter of diamonds,” Melikyan said, adding that the
more jewels give brightness to the world, the darker the places they
are made in. “There is great contrast in our profession,” Melikyan
said. During his apprentice years, Melikyan was merely watching
his master without speaking, learned what kind of iron pencils are
necessary and developed himself with patience and great effort.

After his return from obligatory military service, he wanted to
run his own workshop but was unable to open it due to financial
constraints. Fortunately, his uncle helped him and Melikyan began
working as an assistant at his uncle’s jewelry shop in Nuriosmaniye.

He used to engrave jewels for his friends and family, and his
popularity increased with time. “Hand engraving requires patience,
determination and physical effort,” he said. Eventually, Melikyan
opened his own workshop in 1987. “I created my own engraving style,”
added the senior craftsman, who has designed diamonds for world leaders
and famous individuals all around the world. Moreover, jewelry firms
have displayed his works at international fairs, and while he has
yet to travel abroad, the world has fallen into his lap. Melikyan
believes he has not received what he deserves, but has never lost
his ambition. “I make thousands of stokes with an iron pencil while
designing a ring and other jewels.

The art of hand engraving I use to create my works date back 1,000
years,” he said. Melikyan loses himself while working and does not
understand how time flies by. “It has been a narrow and long journey.

Hand engraving is my life,” he said.

The accomplished artist is on the list of the World’s Gold Council
among the jewelers who should be visited in Istanbul. Halic University
also submitted an application to UNESCO to add his name to the list
of “Living Human Treasures.” Melikyan now continues his job at his
small and humble workshop on the third floor of the Cuhacı Inn in
Nuriosmaniye. He tirelessly turns priceless stones into a work of art.

His 18-year-old son Alen is learning his father’s trade as well,
much to his father’s delight. To celebrate his 40th year in the
trade, Melikyan created a masterpiece collection. “With my 45-piece
collection, I want to show Istanbul, Turkey and the world a perspective
from the eyes of a craftsman for future generations.

Istanbul is a living museum and I gain inspiration whenever I go. My
jewels inherit the city’s culture. When we look back, we say ‘what
amazing things they did,’ and I want the future generations to
understand today’s culture through my eyes,” he concluded.