Pauline Bern is a contemporary jeweller and teacher much admired in the jewellery world not least for the number of her graduates who have developed successful careers as jewellers. She agreed to record her oral history back in 2021 but, as sometimes happens, we didn’t do the recordings until a few years later, in January 2025. Over nearly ten hours of recording Pauline talked about her childhood and early adult life and her career in contemporary jewellery.

The oral history recordings give a strong sense of Pauline’s thinking about her making as well as her approach to teaching. She speaks to pieces made by her students and her own work and allowed me to take photographs to accompany the audio. I am delighted to say that the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa has acquired the oral history for its collection where it will sit alongside examples of Pauline’s jewellery held in the museum’s art collection. It will be wonderful if the material can be used to inform future exhibitions and other work. In the meantime, here is a short audio story about Pauline discovering the joy of making. I am extremely grateful to Pauline for agreeing to be recorded and for permitting her voice to be used here. 

Listen to Pauline Bern 

Read the transcript