John has been building and repairing fine Jewelry since 1983 in the Des Moines area. Formerly in the wholesale trade shops, doing custom work for other stores, before starting Gold Art in 1991.

From March 1991 until January 2000, John owned and worked at Gold Art Handmade Jewelry as a full service Jeweler, specializing in made-to-order pieces. All wax carving, casting, masters and mold making for multiples such as service pins, all methods of stone setting, and complete fabrication of Jewelry was done here.

Since July of 1999. John has developed an allergy to gold, after working with it for so many years. The condition affects the skin on the fingertips, from working with gold filings. The allergy was triggered by gold dental work introduced about a year earlier. Even with latex gloves, and powerful cortizone, the condition continued to worsen. Under doctor's advise, he has found another job away from bench work. See the effects at this page. Staying away from bech filings, and the substitution of the gold crown for palladium/siver dental work, has brought the skin back to good health. There is no treatment for the effects, and John can only work wth platinum at this time.

John moved to the Chicago area in January of 2000, and is currently working for
Studio 2015 Jewelers, Woodstock, IL in Geneva, IL

John also does web site development through John Christensen Designs

John also enjoys fishing, and working on his custom
1984 Chevrolet ElCamino.
See the details on the project here.