Our Story
The extraordinary magic of a love story.
Husband-and-wife team Alisa and David Thorp founded Mercurius in 2007, around the same time they decided to spend their lives together.
David is a passionate maker and formally-trained metalsmith with more than 20 years of experience as a bench jeweler, and he brings his skills and expertise to every piece of Mercurius jewelry.
Alisa is currently studying gemology at the GIA and seeks out exquisite, ethically-sourced materials. She has a degree in Environmental Biology but followed her heart to study and teach yoga for more than a decade before taking over the operations of Mercurius.
All pieces are designed and crafted on Huchiun Ohlone land in Oakland, California, using carefully sourced materials from around the world. David utilizes time-honored techniques - like lost wax casting - in conjunction with cutting-edge technologies - like CAD and 3D printing.
Fine jewelry born from a
transformative process.
The designs are driven first and foremost by unique materials that showcase the abundance, mesmerizing patterns, and stunning variation of the natural world.
Carefully and intentionally-chosen individual elements are joyfully transformed into talismans for everyday wear.
Mercurius is timeless jewelry that invokes a sense of magic, so you can move through the world feeling truly connected to air, fire, water, earth - and spirit.
Mercurius believes that the origin of each part is inseparable from the complete beauty of the finished object, so the team carefully sources all materials with a commitment to ethics and transparency.
In addition to exceeding the Green Business standards for waste reduction and resource conservation, Mercurius is continuously implementing new ways to conserve resources and increase efficiency while maintaining high standards of quality and service.
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Mercurius supports human rights and communities all over the world by making conscious decisions about how they source all materials. Not only does the team acquire materials through transparent supply chains to the greatest extent possible, but they also only work with metals that are either Third Party Certified Recycled or Fairmined.
A portion of all profits are redistributed to organizations working to mitigate the impacts of the jewelry industry and equitably distribute resources.
A commitment to intentional creation.
Talismanic magic is the people's magic.
Jewelry is one of the oldest forms of adornment, and talismanic magic has spanned all cultures and traditions throughout history. The magic contained within talismanic objects is not owned by a higher authority but rather by the people, with wisdom carried on by shamans and witches - and passed from one generation to another by grandmothers and other wise women. Craftspeople make it tangible and accessible. Elemental, modern-day magic is incorporated into all of Mercurius' jewelry collections.
Mercurius is the foundation of alchemy.
Alchemy is the fabled practice of turning base metal into gold. However, many people don't realize that alchemy was also a philosophical system and that Mercurius, or mercury, was one of its driving principles. Alchemical theory posits that elements in perfect balance - air, fire, water, and earth - are forces of nature that can potentially unleash spirit within matter and transform it into something greater than the sum of its parts. Lustrous mercury enables the process of inner transformation to begin.