Papa Gueye, goldsmith
A Senegalese goldsmith in Miami, from a long ancestral line of gold and iron smiths, with more than fifty years at the bench.
“Every piece carries the hands that came before mine.”
Papa Gueye comes from a family of smiths. The craft was handed to him the way it was handed down for generations before: at the anvil, by watching and doing.
Over more than fifty years he has mastered Senegalese gold filigree, West African symbols and masks, Indian goldwork, and jewelry traditions from across the world. Today he works in Miami, by appointment, and makes every piece himself: the gold and silver, the brass and copper, and the beadwork.
His customers come from across South Florida for things a mall jeweler can't make: a name cuff in 24k gold, a pendant shaped like home, a grandmother's ring remade for a new generation.
What Papa is known for
Senegalese filigree
Gold and silver drawn into fine wire and shaped by hand into open lace: leaves, rosettes, crosses and wings.
West African symbols
The continent, the map of Senegal, the baobab, masks and the ankh, in gold, silver and brass.
Custom and name pieces
Name cuffs, pendants and initial rings in 18k or 24k gold, usually ready in about 3 days.
Brass, copper and beadwork
Hammered cuffs, coiled spirals, cowrie shells and natural stone bracelets, all by his hand.