About me

I’m Lydia Valant, archaeologist and jewelry maker. Online I’m also known as Celefindel.

In 2012, I finished my studies of Provincial Archaeology in Graz with a master’s degree. In 2017 I published a guide for local archaology museums called “Von Feuerböcken und Römersteinen” (sorry, only available in German) with the ISBN 9783-853652893. You can order it in your local bookshop or online. I also make workshops in schools about everyday life in Provincial Roman Austria.

In 2019, I began the Metal and Jewelry master class at Ortweinschule Graz where I graduated as jewelry artist in summer 2021.

Jewelry and history have been my passion since childhood. At the age of 13 I made my first metal jewelry piece; in my early twenties I earned my first money with selling them at medieval fairs. Though I started with LARP and fantasy jewelry, as the years went on I became more interested in historical styles. Now, my focus is on reenactment and the recreation of historical jewelry and accessoires. I’m still working at medieval fairs and museum events – you can can see the dates HERE. For booking me and my booth, please note that due to bureaucratic reasons I’m staying in Austria for now.

I get inspired by archaeological finds or historical paintings from all over Europe and beyond and think that a lot of jewelry from former times could incorporated into modern fashion. Some styles were even “en vogue” for centuries and you wouldn’t recognize the design as “old”. My creations are direct copies of or highly inspired by historical examples but also modern interpretations of historical pieces.

The materials I use are silver, (real) bronze and 14K-24K gilded brass as well as standard findings, freshwater pearls, gemstones and glass beads. Some pieces and materials are vintage and re-used in my designs, so a lot of my jewelry is unique and cannot be reproduced.