Cristina Rotondaro, born in Kenya and daughter of an Italian Ambassador, grew between Kenya, Morocco, San Marino, the Philippines and Brazil.
She completed the degree in Business Administration and furthered her education with a Master in International Affairs at Master at Johns Hopkins SAIS.
Her work experience began in the Marketing of the fashion company producing avant-guard brands of the early 90’s such as Fendissime, Marithe Francois Girbaud and Katherine Hamnet and soon after she moved at Saatchi & Saatchi advertising. After her Master she entered Bvlgari, where she stayed six years. This was a fundamental experience in the world of gems and Cristina felt passionate about the jewelry industry, getting familiar with both gemology and jewels production process.
In the year 2000 she started her own career as a designer, creating and launching her own brand: EKA ‘One’ in Sanskrit which she then dropped to just use her full name.
Her first jewelry collection took form from contemporary ethnic research gathered through her numerous journeys across the world. Her creative path then evolved towards different interpretations of subject matters, ranging from the the four Elements, dream worlds, architectural structures, art music, fashion, psychology, Buddhist, Hindu and yoga sacred tests.
A regular yoga practitioner – with an Iyengar Yoga Teacher Diploma achieved at Paris Centre, under the guidance of Sri Faeq Biria – she often takes this discipline as a point of reference for many of her inspirations both from the use of symbols and for its millennial philosophy.
In 2003 Cristina started selling at Barneys New York and at other Barneys stores all across the United States of America.
Between 2003 and 2012 the creations of the designer, appreciated among others by the Queen of Jordan, are distributed also by Harvey Nichols in London, by Holt Renfrew in Vancouver and by exclusive retailers in Capri and Milan. Her flagship store in Rome, Rampa Mignanelli is mentioned as a “jewelry of the city“ for two years in the city Guide Louis Vuitton.
In 2011, Cristina exposed as unique jewelry designer at the 54th Biennale of Venice Arts.
In 2015 she launched the collection “One of a Kind”, created in her own Atelier do Horto, at the Botanical Garden, Rio de Janeiro.
In the same year she presented at the “Triennale” of Milan an iconic piece for the EXPO 2015 in Milan, called “e-KGilibrio”. This same art piece was presented in Rio in an event organized together with Harper’s Bazaar Art Magazine.
In 2016 she has the honor and exclusive permission from the Rio de Janeiro Archidiocese to create the jewel “The skin of Christ the Redeemer”, her line completely dedicated to social causes.
Increasingly interested in using unusual materials such as oxidized bronze, Brazilian and African wood, enamels, glass and silk threads, her creation moves more and more towards arts and finest craftsmanship, seeking preciousness and uniqueness.
The latest ‘Trasparenze’ collection continues to explore materials, symbols and multicolored lights of stones and transparent glazes.
In 2022 Cristina moved to Los Angeles and she deepened her work with sculpture as a way to express her understanding of Anthroposophical concepts, symbols and messages. Since the 90's she had studied the 'Science of the Spirit' founded by Rudolph Steiner and grew increasingly involved also with the Waldorf Pedagogy that stems from it and has actively worked for it. The Sun-Christ was created in early 2023, as a gift to his Holiness the Pope Francis on behalf of the Heads of States of the Republic of San Marino.
Cristina's first approach to metal sculpture was in 2015 while living in Rio de Janeiro with the 'Womb of Life' a description of the different stages of life. It was done with the bullets melted and casted in a foundry in the favela.
