Levent Oz was born in Istanbul, Turkey, one-time capital of the Ottoman Empire. As the son of a museum supervisor, he had the chance to see the impressive court jewelry collection — part of which was not even accessible to the common visitor.

 

He started to design his own jewelry, and eventually opened up his own shop. However, after moving to Vienna, Austria, in 1992, he was forced to find out how to produce the jewelry he designed, since he no longer had the support of the workshops which finished his pieces.

       

The year 1998 was a turning point—it was the year of his trip to the United States where he later decided to stay and eventually become a citizen. And in 2008, he opened his tiny shop — Silver of Oz — in Benson, Omaha.

After being in Benson for a year, Silver of Oz moved to a bigger location, with a workshop room, a room for silversmithing classes, and space for a small art gallery. In 2012, Silver of Oz moved to 132nd and center. Finally in June, 2016 Levent moved to Main Street Studios in downtown Elkhorn, where he presides today.

      

Today, Silver of Oz offers a wide variety of handcrafted silver jewelry mostly produced by Levent. In addition to making an assortment of jewelry, he also leads silversmithing classes to help you design the piece of your dreams.