There can be little doubt that most jewellery produced in this country is more elaborate than elegant. Anyone looking for pieces that are simple and versatile will have trouble tracking them down. Many Irish jewellers seem to have greater interest in the tourist than the domestic market, so the same few designs - not least the ubiquitous Claddagh ring - turn up again and again. And whenever something more contemporary is offered, it can still be too fussy or incorporate unusual elements such as plastic and rubber.

The refreshing easiness of Maureen Lynch's designs, therefore, deserves to receive an enthusiastic welcome. Born in Dublin, Lynch first trained at the National College of Art and Design (where she studied craft, specialising in silverwork), before going on to work with master goldsmiths in Canada and Denmark. The latter country's understated approach to design - in which the best quality materials are deployed in the least elaborate manner - is evident in the jewellery she now produces.

Lynch argues that jewellery should take its inspiration from the lines of the human body rather than try to be in competition with this. She says that the shapes she prefers "echo the shape of the body, the line of the neck, the jut of the collarbone and the curve of the earlobe. Jewellery should enhance these features rather than jar with them." Many of the pieces she creates have an inherent rhythm in their design, with the lines wrapping and folding into one another. Forms are decisive and yet gentle, with a constant sense of movement and flow. Maureen Lynch uses both silver and gold for her jewellery, which is either highly polished or brushed to give a smooth finish. Curved bar lines are a feature of the work, seen in necklace pendants, earrings, cufflinks and brooches. The same twist recurs in bangles designed to turn on themselves as they wind around the wrist. Rings come in both thick bands of silver and flat circles, into which semi-precious stones such as garnet, cornelian and amethyst have been set. While these rings look individually striking, they achieve even more of an effect when a number of them are worn together. Now widely available throughout the country - including DesignYard and the Kilkenny Centre in Dublin, Design Concourse in Galway and Ballina, and Co Mayo's Cobou - Lynch's latest range of jewellery is priced between £39 and £600. She can be contacted at 01-6761351, email: maureenlynch@ireland.com Her new range fills what has until now been a definite gap in the market and so deserves to do very well.