Athens-based jeweler Lalaounis interprets the ancient Greek tradition of jewelry ♦
In Athens Ilias Lalalounis is a classic almost like the Parthenon. He is a few years younger, however: the founder of the jewelry at the foot of the Acropolis was born in 1920, into a family of goldsmiths and watchmakers from Delphi now in their fourth generation. In short, the Greek tradition had it in his blood. After studying economics and law at the University of Athens, in fact, the jeweler preferred to join his uncle’s jewelry company, where he learned the trade.
In 1941, during the Second World War, Ilias Lalaounis took over the family business. Driven by a passion for history, he began studying classical Greek art. So he decided to give new life to the Greek jewels kept in museums. Of course, to recreate those jewels of two millennia earlier it was necessary to learn the ancient goldsmith technique: granulation, filigree, hand weaving, hammering. His first collection, in 1957, was therefore an “archaeological collection” inspired by the Classical, Hellenistic and Mycenaean ages. He then continued on the same path with jewels in which gold was the almost exclusive material. Over the years it has obviously expanded the collections with modern pieces, but without abandoning the inspiration to the world of antiquity. In 1998 the company passed to the daughters, who continue to renew the collections, always following the path of the founding master. The tradition, in fact, still continues today with jewels that are inspired by the tradition of Greek jewelry, with some oriental influence.
