Lake Como is a tourist area often frequented by rich and famous tourists. Actors, entrepreneurs and celebrities love spending time on the shores of the lake at the foot of the Alps. An aspect that convinced Villa Milano, a historic family maison founded in 1876 and now in its fifth generation, to display its jewels in two historic five-star structures: Passalacqua, hotel in Moltrasio and the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, both owned by the De Santis family. The two hotels will host the Calypso Collection by Villa Milano within their boutiques.
The Calypso Collection is made with the use of natural shells fixed on gold plates and embellished with stones. The idea of Alice and Francesca Villa, born during their travels, combines the world of the sea with gold and gems. The collection also includes pendants and cufflinks, which are one of the traditional strong points of the Milanese Maison. The shells, collected during various trips around the world, especially in the Pacific and the Caribbean, become jewels, thanks to the combination with precious stones (such as emerald, sapphire and ruby), inserted into the shell through a small gold setting 18kt white, yellow or pink, like the caseback at the base. The natural colors and shapes are preserved and not treated in any way, which is why the shells are all unique and different from each other, both in color and shape and texture. The surfaces are not treated or artificially colored. Finally, the color combinations between the stone and the shell are sometimes chosen favoring contrast, sometimes opting for tone-on-tone options.
Through this collaboration we want to pay homage to the excellence of Italian hospitality, giving those who visit our country a precious object to always carry with them. Starting from Lake Como, traveling along our peninsula, the Calypso collection, inspired and dedicated to summer, becomes the spokesperson of Italian elegance.
Alice Villa
The prices of the jewels in the collection are between 700 and 980 euros for pendants, 180-370 for colored chains and cords, while the cufflinks range from 2000 to 2500 euros. The jewels will be displayed inside display cases designed specifically for this collaboration: glass domes, made in Italy, composed of a base hand-decorated by the artist Federica Lazzati and internal risers and marine-themed display necks, in iron or brass burnished, made by the Milanese laboratory Glab.
