Born and raised in Israel, Sharon started her professional career in New York as a young still photographer on film sets for the Maysles brothers and later for Laurie Anderson. Her work was so original and appreciated that it led to five years of portrait photography. Her romance with jewelry began by chance, during a period of yoga study in India. She gradually became an avid collector of ethnic jewelry; "I understood that each piece contained an entire world of inspirations and sensations," says Sharon.

Beads from Africa, the Himalayas, and Indian reservations in Arizona became the starting point for her creations. Next came rubies from Myanmar, diamonds from Belgium, white pearls from Japan and black pearls from Tahiti. Over time, Sharon developed her signature techniques such as weaving in seed pearls and wrapping pure gold wires. She controls colors by adding her own alloys and making the back of each piece as beautiful as the front, for instance with enamel patterning or perhaps one small emerald.

With a devoted following among jewelry collectors, her current works are mostly "one of a kind." She has her own unique process from the inside out, starting with raw materials, reworking them, and subtracting more than adding. The results are more than just wearable; they are stunningly original and sophisticated pieces of art. Sharon is always on the lookout for new and original ways to cut a stone to bring out its finest color and clarity. She searches for new techniques, but draws inspiration from mythology, nature and her travel experiences.

Press Reviews:
A Woman of Values
"To discover or acquire her jewelry, you need to make an appointment with Sharon Alouf, their creator. It's not just a practical matter: This is a rare woman, the meeting is precious. She has a generous, Israeli beauty - her country of origin - olive skin, jet black hair; she opens her boxes, shares her gold, pearl, lapis, turquoise and diamond treasures, pieces of cast, sculpted, or engraved art, shaped by her own hands. In so doing, she has the power of a gaze, a presence - to impose calm, reflection, remove all social and geographic contingencies from the moment, and make the instant absolute. She invites you to touch or try a pair of earrings, which she spent more than a year making; a necklace, whose stones come from all four corners of the world; another necklace, whose clasp is chiseled on the back, like a mosaic of light, or a detail of incredible finesse, tiny pearls embroidered with a thread of gold."
Vogue, Paris, 2004


"Alouf does not take any short cuts. It’s a matter of both character and ideology. Her renowned integrity turns the jewelry she designs into small, perfect creations of shape, color, light and texture."
Haaretz, 2005

Sharon Alouf jewelry on international magazine covers (from top left):
German Vogue (Oct. 2004), earrings; Glamour (Mar. 2005), Naomi Watts wearing pearl earrings; InStyle (Jan. 2002), Beyonce wearing coral earrings; InStyle, Gwyneth Paltrow wearing pearl and blue sapphire earrings; Vibe (Mar. 2005), Lenny Kravitz wearing black diamond necklace; Us Magazine, Demi Moore wearing black diamond earrings.