In the autumn 1991 on the meetings in Cologne between CORPUS (France), FORUM FUR SCHMUCK UND DESIGN (Germany), VES (Holland) there was founded the European network for gathering and contacting the jewellery and goldsmithing designers and associations. Soon the differences between VES and other partners led to the constitution of a new organization without VES.

More precise bases were settled at the first conference of network in Cologne in June 1994. The Cologne meeting was organized and hosted by Forum fur Schmuck und Design. Then in 1995 the Slovak association "AURA" organized the meeting in Bratislava, joining the net of AOE. Since the Bratislava meeting the Polish association STFZ joined the network of AOE. Some members of AOE met on the "Jewellers' Exchange" in Newcastle in March 1996.

After preliminary meeting in November 1996 in Strasbourg, the third conference of AOE opened in Strasbourg on 27 June. After three succesfull days it was decided, that the next conference will take a place in Stockholm, 1998. Since certain time the Spanish association FAD, British Association for Contemporary Jewellery (ACJ) and circles of artists from Sweden joined the network of AOE.

Next conference in Stockholm, 27 - 29 June 1998 enlarged the interested circles of artists. The persons from LAHTI Polytechnic from Finland, artists goldsmiths from Danmark and representatives of Japanese artists were happy to get onboard the conference of AOE. Next conference, June 1999 took a place in Barcelona, Spain, and was organized by Spanish association FAD, under the title "Ars Ornata Mediterranea". In the year 2000 we shall met in Kraków, Poland, on the meeting organized by Polish STFZ. The 2000 AOE meeting will not interfere with a conference in Birmingham, England, organized in 2000 by ACJ and American SNAG.