What is the point of learning a trade if not to share it—if not to put it at the service of others? Abelino knows that if he were to die tomorrow without having taught jewelry-making to anyone, a vast body of knowledge would disappear with him—and that is a prospect he simply cannot accept. He is also certain that he came into this world with a purpose: to serve others. He leads by example, having once had to persuade his own teachers to share what they knew and let go of their secrecy.

He clearly remembers the pivotal day that shaped his destiny, when a friend asked if he wanted to learn the art of goldsmithing. Abelino was fourteen at the time. Not long before, he had arrived in Quibdó from the rural village where he lived with his family, about half an hour away by boat along the Atrato River, in order to finish high school. He studied at night and spent his days doing odd jobs—running errands, selling pastries and bread, and selling all kinds of goods in the streets. But one day he lost all the money he had earned, and the distress was overwhelming. That was when his friend’s offer came. Abelino accepted and entered the jewelry workshop. He started at the bottom—running errands, cleaning the space and the tools—until, little by little, they began to teach him. Reluctantly at first, and without revealing all their secrets, but he learned.

From the very first day, he was fascinated by the transformation of materials—how those jewelers turned mere grams of gold into gleaming chains and rings. He saw in it the possibility of working under a roof, no longer exposed to the sun and rain as he had been while selling on the streets. His first pieces were for loved ones—for a sweetheart or for family—and in that way he showed his mother and sisters in Quibdó that he had acquired a skill. By the time he turned twenty, he had become independent. He began working out of a small room he rented downtown, with a clear plan: to invest half of everything he earned into tools for his own workshop. Even then, he was dreaming big—of a jewelry school that has now become a reality in his workshop, which has twelve workstations and welcomes anyone eager to learn. It is the result of more than thirty years of dedication.

The fact that there are no formal jewelry academies—that one must beg masters to share their knowledge—still strikes a nerve. He understands, of course, that this tradition is partly rooted in the value of gold; not just anyone entrusts it to a stranger. But he has found a way forward, making agreements with his students and always placing his passion for teaching and his ability to innovate at the forefront. In doing so, he has passed on his knowledge of chain-making, stone setting, repoussé, and die stamping, as well as his favorite techniques: filigree piercing, engraving on smooth surfaces, and modeling and casting through the lost-wax process.

There is just one more detail to complete his story: Abelino is the seventh of twelve siblings. “Seven wonders of the world, seven days of the week, seven seas—seven is God’s favorite number,” he says. That is why his jewelry workshop is called Seven: it has seven display cases, and he dreams of having seven children. The number has served him well—it has brought him the good fortune not only of teaching, but of knowing that his knowledge will provide someone else with a livelihood.