Devta Doolan was born and raised in Wellington, New Zealand and moved to America when he was eleven. He developed an early appreciation for jewelry, requesting a silver signet ring and ID bracelet for his sixteenth birthday. Once in college, he started taking jewelry-making classes, designing pieces with stones he had collected over the years. Enthralled by this creative process, Devta set up a jeweler's workbench at the foot of his bed. In his own words: "My first pieces were funky and crude, but I could not have been happier. I could see myself doing this for the rest of my life, and here I am. I want my work to be direct. It's all about color. I use 22 karat gold that's as rich and lush as the color of the stones. I want there to be minimal intervention on my part. The work is about the color provided by the gold and stones working in powerful harmony."