The Jensens are a team favorite around here, and if we are being honest, they are Babs' favorite collaborators when it comes to dreaming up new, one-of-a-kind designs. The friendship between Alara and Michael Jensen Designs goes back a decade, though Babs will tell you she remembers the moment even earlier than that, flipping through a celebrated lookbook and thinking, "who made this?"

Michael Jensen Designs is a husband-and-wife studio building original jewelry and metalwork shaped by sculpture, engineering, gemology, and a genuine fascination with jewelry history. Michael brings decades of experience as an artist and metalsmith. Catherine is a Graduate Gemologist. Together they make bold, carefully considered pieces that actually have something to say, rather than just something to show.

If you are exploring contemporary designers, this collection offers a rare meeting of art and history. Sculptural forms and thoughtfully chosen materials pull from influences as far back as ancient adornment and as specific as Victorian design. The result is jewelry with real character: distinctive, well-built, and carrying a story in every piece.

Artistry with an Informed Point of View

Michael Jensen Designs earns its place at Alara for original thinking and inventive combinations of materials, including reprocessed metals, repurposed gemstones, and natural gemstones chosen through the studio's own sourcing standards. We are here to guide you through the available designs, materials, and gemstone disclosures with a straight answer, not a sales pitch.

If your search for ethical and sustainable jewelry starts with better questions, ask away. We can walk you through a piece's materials, available gemstone treatment information, fit, care, or the story behind the design. We can also explain how this collection fits into Alara's broader commitment to transparent education, including our substantiated use of 100 percent recycled gold, silver, and platinum across our operations.

Cold Hard Facts

• Studio: Michael Jensen Designs
• Creative partnership: Michael and Catherine Jensen
• Expertise: Metalsmithing, sculpture, engineering, and graduate gemology
• Design influences: Ancient jewelry, Victorian history, and sculptural form
• Materials: The studio reports using reprocessed metals, repurposed gemstones, and sourced natural gemstones
• Shopping support: Personalized guidance from Alara online and in Bozeman, Montana