Turquoise Slice with Apatite Briolette Earrings. Annie Hammer was surrounded by art as a child. Her grandmother has a museum quality collection featuring Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, George Braque, David Smith, Arp, Archapinko, Man Ray, Brancusi. Hammer began her adventure into the art world with a year of study at Chicago's Art Institute followed by formal training as a Windy City jeweler's apprentice.  Exchanging city living for the desert,  Annie moved to Tucson, Arizona, where she earned a degree in graphic design from The University of Arizona. Hammer found her niche in her 30's as a jewelry designer.  She began designing jewelry evolving from costume pieces to a finer look using silver, gold and semi-precious stones and pearls which is her signature today. For Annie, jewelry design is a simple, innate way of looking at the world.  "I envision things in sculptural form and then create it into jewelry."