Fantastic journey from science fiction to jewelry: Michela Trento is the founder of the jewelry brand 12PM. And his new DarkSide collection, made of bronze, with black enamel, hand-frosted to make it opaque and unique, lends itself to being the subject of a fantastic story. The novelty concerns the small stylized drawings of a Dragon, a Carp and a Heron, imprinted on the enamel. Not only that: each jewel is linked to the story of two imaginary characters: Amina and Karbo. In the fantasy narrative of 12Pm, the two characters love each other, but they are divided, a curse separates them, condemning them to an existence made up of leaps between different worlds, times and spaces.
Amina and Karbo are then separated into two distant, forgotten and unreachable dimensions, except once every 12 months, at 12 pm and for 12 hours. Numerical conjunction that connects the history with the Michela Trento brand, which alongside jewelery cultivates a passion for the world of fashion and for art in the form of illustration and design.
Cristiana Perali, the spirit of Rome
A small goldsmith shop set in Old Rome, between a bend in the Tiber and Campo dei Fiori, between the Vatican and Piazza Navona: Cristiana Perali‘s jewels are the legacy of a century spent working with metal and stone. In fact, that of Cristiana Perali is a small goldsmith company with a great tradition: it dates back to 1907 when Carlo, the grandfather of the current owner, started the business by opening a jewelery shop with attached precision watchmaking laboratory and goldsmith’s workshop.
In 1945 Carlo Perali was joined by his son Paolo, who in turn passed on his passion for jewelry to his daughter Cristiana, a third generation jewelry designer and stylist. It is inevitable that the spirit of the Eternal City is part of the inspiration of the shop’s goldsmith production, but without it manifesting itself in jewels that can be associated with a tourist appeal. Cristiana Perali’s city is simply introjected, as in the Roma collection, which incorporates the design of the ancient stone road pavements. Also for this reason, her jewels have been exhibited in museums and high jewelery exhibitions and have paraded on high fashion catwalks in Rome, Beijing, Shanghai, Chicago, New York, St. Petersburg and Mexico City.
Eleonora Ghilardi diving with H2O
Water is the natural element that is most necessary for the development of life. And it is also a matter loved by human beings. In reality, however, it is not a single element, but a chemical compound of two hydrogen atoms bonded to an oxygen atom. In chemistry this relationship is summarized by the formula H2O. Water as a natural element represented by the formula is also the source of inspiration for the collection of Eleonora Ghilardi, an artisan-goldsmith and jewelry designer from Lombardy. Her H2O collection is a tribute to nature and to her most important element.
Furthermore, to underline the attention to natural balance, each jewel of the H2O line is packaged in recycled paper packaging, perfumed with a fragrance created specifically for the collection and a certificate of authenticity (Italian-English), jewel maintenance booklet (Italian- English) and cotton bag for the transport and protection of the jewel. The jewels recall the irregular splashes of a wave in shape and are made with the technique of lost wax casting in silver or bronze, with the addition of hard stones such as jasper or labradorite.
For centuries, people have built pyramids in different areas of the world. The largest pyramid by volume, for example, is that of Cholula, located in the Mexican state of Puebla. But the most famous are those found in Egypt, including the Great Pyramid of Cheops, which is the only one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still left. The geometric shape of the pyramids, today, is instead used for much smaller objects, such as jewelry. The Piramidi fashion jewelery collection, proposed by Unoaerre, goes in this direction.
For some time now, the Tuscan company specializing in gold jewelry has also expanded its business to jewelry at more affordable prices, with the proposal of collections created with bronze and silver, less expensive than gold. This is the case of the Pyramids collection, which is made of silver-plated bronze or in a gold-colored version. The collection includes a Y-shaped necklace, a gourmette chain bracelet and ring, all with pyramidal geometric elements.
Poor snakes. These reptiles have a bizarre fate: they are generally hated by women (and also by men), although in the vast majority they are absolutely harmless. Yet, at the same time, women love them. But as long as they are in the form of a jewel. The snake that becomes a bracelet or necklace now also bears the Unoaerre label, an Italian company in the Arezzo district, which traditionally specializes in gold jewelery. In this case, however, the Unoaerre Snake collection is part of the fashion line. And, for this, the jewels are made of gilded bronze.
The Snake collection is one of the novelties presented for autumn winter 2022. The collection consists of a necklace, bracelet and ring in a beaten curb chain, with a snake in green and black enamel. The necklace, in which the green enamel snake becomes a clasp.
Annelise Michelson, fashion design
Annelise Michelson, designer by chance: here are her jewels and the Broken chain summer collection ♦
Some are born with the “virus” of the jewelry and since of when they were child want nothing more than invent new earrings, rings and bracelets. And there are those who come to do the jeweler by chance. But he or she has success. It is the story of Annelise Michelson, the daughter of a French businessman and an opera singer from South Africa.
es and bags. Then, one day, they asked her to try to design a bijou. Since then he has never looked back and, after a few years won Le Bon Marché in Paris, as well as Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue in New York. It is not fine jewelry. It is a good jewelry, especially with ideas and a great portability. It’s modern design without being extravagant. The training of Annelise in the fashion world pushes her to create a ready-to-wear jewelry of good quality and wearable forever. And an intelligent pricing policy: the jewels are available in bronze, silver, gold plated. Same model, different cost. “I’d like to put all my pieces,” he says. “I do not just do something only thinking about the market, I would feel as if lying to them myself.” And doing so will satisfy even the others.
At the beginning of the 1969 film Cactus Flower, young Toni Simmons (Goldie Hawn) attempts to commit suicide by inhaling gas from the stove. But she is saved by her neighbor and the comedy evolves into a funny crescendo of misunderstandings and love affairs. Moral: even the thorniest events can evolve and flourish, so there is hope at the bottom of every mishap. A film that Bona Calvi must have liked, enough to inspire the Cactus capsule collection. Don’t worry: jewels don’t sting.
The miniature cacti are made of bronze, with a small emerald, ruby or rose cut diamond in the center. Cactus jewelry includes rings, a bracelet and earrings. The jewels are handcrafted using the traditional lost-wax modeling technique in her laboratory in the center of Milan. After high school, Bona Calvi enrolled at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts and later at the Ambrosiana Goldsmith School in Milan. She started making jewelry in 2015.
Photographers define blue hours as those moments that precede nightfall and which offer a somewhat mysterious atmosphere. With greater romanticism, the Italian Maison Vhernier called Coucher du Soleil (sunset) its first collection to experiment with the use of bronze. The homage to the blue hour is, of course, also (but not limited to) marked by the color to which the collection refers. Coucher du soleil is characterized by the use of classic and uncommon materials. In addition, the jewelry is modular, composed of thin vertical elements in bronze dyed blue, thanks to a special process, and gold.
To the two combined metals is added, in some versions, the glow of diamonds, set in an order that seems random, but is not, as it is in the style of the Piedmontese Maison. The collection includes bracelets and band rings, sculpture earrings, even with generous volumes. The collection, in addition to the blue tone, also includes jewels with golden shades, always made with the same materials, but with diamonds in a brown version.
Japanese design, sculpture and Milanese avant-garde: it is the mix at the base of Natsuko Toyofuku ︎jewelry ♦
The simple and ingenious design of Japan inspired by a sculptor’s soul. Natsuko Toyofuku, known as Natsu, is a jewelry designer who lives and works in Milan, with a showroom workshop in one of the nightlife streets, Corso Como. Born in Japan, she has lived in Italy since she was a child. Her father, Tomomori Toyofuku, was a great sculptor active in the sixties and seventies, a bridge between the Japanese tradition and the western avant-garde. And the mother, Kazuko, was a painter.
With this imprinting, Natsuko has developed her creativity in jewelry. She use silver and bronze, with the addition of pearls, a classic element of Japanese jewelry, along with enamel, natural stones. But above all, her jewels are distinguished by their unusual shape, sculptor to wear and which does not go unnoticed. Crafted by craftsmen, Natsuko Toyofuku’s jewels turned out to be a shock in the eighties, when the designer started the business. Now, however, they are generally accepted and have won over a wider audience.
The magic circle is a ritual of very ancient origins, which had particular use in ceremonial magic, practiced especially between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and which returned to vogue in the nineteenth century. In short, the circle has always been a symbol, as well as a geometric shape. It can be an icon of perfection, an ideal representation of time, day and night, of the eternal return. And it is the protagonist of many jewelry collections, to which is now also added the Magic Circle line by Boccadamo.
The company specializing in bijoux and silver, has revisited the collection in its most essential lines, preserving in the new sets the geometric game of single or concentric circles, with a diamond-effect texture. The brightness of the Swarovski crystals, which blends with a minimal chic design, makes the Magic Circle line modern, with an urban style. The bijoux are made of bronze plated with pink or yellow gold, or with silver-colored rhodium plating.
Daniela De Marchi has a boutique in Milan, but also exports her jewels to France, Great Britain or Japan.
Milan, in addition to being an Italian city, is also a brand. It rhymes with design, fashion, style. For these hidden virtues Milan is famous all over the world. It is therefore not surprising that those who design jewels in this city find an international echo. But it is also not surprising that those who succeed abroad in Italy are less well known. Nemo profeta in patria, recite the latins sacred texts (no one is a prophet in his home), as testified by Daniela De Marchi. The designer is known and appreciated in Milan, where she has boutiques and ateliers, but is also distributed throughout the rest of Italy. In addition, her bijoux are also sold abroad, such as France, Great Britain and as far as Japan.
Daniela De Marchi dedicated herself to jewelery at the age of 23, after winning a scholarship at the Ied, the European Institute of Design. Today, her jewels, with the Ddm brand, are made mainly of silver and bronze, with the addition of natural stones, but also white or brown diamonds. The designer offers silver earrings, necklaces, rings and bracelets also with colored enamels. And brass is also presented in eight different colors: golden, copper, purple, red, silver, turquoise, ultramarine and midnight. One of the flagship collections, D by Diamonds adds small white diamonds to the simple bronze, which embellish the jewel.
San Pantaleo, for Christians, is the patron saint of doctors and midwives. And in Piazza San Pantaleo, in Rome, there is the atelier of Giulia Barela, one of the signatures of the jewelry of the capital of Italy. What is the link? Simple: for the designer, beauty must be a practice of well-being. Somehow, in short, jewels can heal the spirit or, at least, give a good mood. From this principle Giulia Barela started to conceive the Memento collection.
The word is linked to the concept of memory and, therefore, of awareness of the past, in particular for the female condition. And perhaps the stair-shaped elements that make up some of the pieces in the collection also symbolize the ups and downs of life, as well as a metaphor for personal growth. Another recurring icon is that of the four-leaf clover, a good luck charm. In any case, the collection, made with sculptural effects, consists of 13 pieces: two bracelets, five rings, a necklace and a pendant. They are available in both 925 silver and 24-karat gold-plated bronze.
Patrizia Corvaglia, homage to ancient Rome
Patrizia Corvaglia is a Roman jewelry designer and Roman artist. And like many Romans (and many non-Romans too) she loves the Eternal City. This is confirmed by the new jewelry collection which is, in fact, dedicated to Rome (with the hope of a rebirth that will bring the prodromes a new renaissance after the terrible months of the covid-19 pandemic). The collection includes a series of bronze jewels that reproduce, stylized, the geometries of some of the most famous monuments in Rome, such as the Cupolone (San Pietro), the Campidoglio, the Colosseum, the Roman Aqueduct, and even the profile of Agrippina , noblewoman and empress of ancient Rome.
Rome is my city, the one where I have lived since I was a child, the one that has welcomed me, embraced and given me all the beauty that has served me to travel my way. Rome has always been linked to art and classicism, in this collection I wanted to re-propose the classic taste and the symbolic monuments of the city. The endless walks to look with the nose towards the sky its infinite domes, statues, temples, squares and alleys where every thought and worry were nullified by the grandeur of its majesty. When we say that beauty will save the world, we mean exactly this: beauty is capable of taking us to another dimension, of detaching ourselves from the one in which mediocrity assaults us and disturbs us to make us fly in an enormous infinity that elevates us, while everything else becomes small and distant. This collection is my dedication to you, to my love, to my city: Rome.
Patrizia Corvaglia
Gala Rotelli’s new jewels, inspired by light and the art world ♦ ︎
Gala Rotelli, a young designer from Milan, with a passion for architecture, painting and jewelry, lights a light on her new collection. What is called, precisely, Lux Lucis, words that mean light lights in Latin. Understanding: jewels that shine, that send flashes, that attract glances. But also, for the designer, a more introspective meaning: “The light hidden inside each of us, that little flame that allows us to dream every night before closing our eyes”.
Read also: Gala Rotelli, jewels for dreamers
The collection is in 925 rhodium silver and 24 carat gold plated bronze. And, as always, it is also inspired by the world of art and design, from Van Gogh to Magritte: details of works by the great painters who turn into jewels: “Light has always interested me because of its ability to change in relation to the materials he meets. It reflects on mirrored materials such as metal, is refracted with glass. Furthermore, my father is an artist and he often creates light installations so in a certain sense he has always been in my DNA, but I like above all to think of light as an inner light, which each of us possesses and which
represents a dream, a talent, an idea ”, explains the designer, who decided to present the collection together with two other brands in the fashion world, Luce Studio and TPF Milan.
“For me design is, in every area, from jewelery to the product, to clothing,” explains Gala.
The ellipsis turns into jewels in the Ellipsis collection by Eleonora Ghilardi ♦ ︎
What do the ellipses that interrupt or conclude a text mean to you? For many they are simply a graphic sign, for others a punctuation to be spread indiscriminately in short messages on smartphones. But they also mean an unfinished thought, a main statement, a brief pause. For Eleonora Ghilardi I am a source of inspiration for her bijoux creations. So much so that he has dedicated a collection to these three points aligned and that, for her, “leave room for fantasies and fly towards the infinite …”.
They are adjustable rings and bracelets, earrings, pendants and necklaces from the Ellipsis collection. The Italian designer uses bronze and silver with the lost-wax casting technique, the result of frequenting the Goldsmith School, along with colored enamels that design unusual shapes and shades.
Snakeskin in rhodium-plated silver or gold-plated bronze by Giulia Barela ♦ ︎
Snakes change skin, Giulia Barela uses it. Skin is the name of collection of the Roman designer who decided to enter the sinuous world of reptiles, a theme faced since the jewelry exists. The snakes, in short, are not just jewels with a wavy line, or that are rolled up on the wrist. The snake skin (without the snake) becomes instead a decoration motif, of a weft that marks the metal. In this case it is silver, gold-plated bronze or black rhodium-plated silver. Three colors, white, yellow and black, which are chosen for large bracelets, rings and earrings. If, instead, you want others serpent rings, you can opt for the Play collection, which uses the classic shape of the animal that has seduced Eve in its traditional image, that is with the whole body that turns into a jewel. Same last for the Body line, where the snakes become even more sinuous. All that remains is to choose the type of temptation preferred. Giulia Netrese
Rebecca overlooking the Mediterranean
Rebecca prepares for summer with two collections dedicated to the Mediterranean ♦ ︎
You may think more of something when it is far away. Summer, for example, is more desired in winter than when the hot season has already begun. Perhaps this aspect can be kept in mind when you take a look at two Rebecca collections, both dedicated to the Mediterranean. The warm colors of summer can be worn in the form of floral elements, oval cameos in coral paste that evoke vacation spots, beaches and sun. It’s out of tune with winter? Not really: rings, earrings, necklaces and bracelets are made with warm and luminous shades: turquoise, red and pink corals are combined with gold reflections and the gleam of opalescent zircons. But Rebecca also offers a Mediterranean line that turns black. It can go very well even when the snow falls. The jewels of the two collections are designed and made in Italy. The materials used are rhodium-plated bronze, steel or gold, zircons and coral paste. Margherita Donato
The bespoke jewelery by Milanese designer Fabio Lissi, with ancient (and surprising) techniques ♦ ︎
The words art and craft have the same origin and, very often, an invisible difference. A unique piece, created following its own extravagance, is art or craftsmanship? Seeking a response is useless in the case of Fabio Lissi, jewelery designer who puts creativity, manual skill, workmanship into the workmanship. Not only that: he also uses amazing techniques. For example, in addition to the classic and traditional wax-blown melting system, Lissi found a method already used by ancient Egyptians, which plans to turn sepia bones into metal mold. The inside and limestone shell of the cuttlefish is a rigid but soft material that Lissi models in to the desired shape. In this way he turns into mold: in this way he has created several jewels that are exhibited in his atelier opened in 2014 at via Mascheroni, Milan.
One of the artist’s jewelers specialties is the creation of unique pieces that combine with the spirit and the demands of a buyer. Gold, but also silver or bronze, are forged around precious or precious stones, even generous. The client, he says, has been involved since the sketch and drawing phase, during which, through personal tales, photographs and anecdotes related to the person who will receive the jewel, inspiration arises. “It is not important the preciousness of the materials with which the customer decides to make it. It is important what the jewel represents, that is, the message it brings with it, “summarizes Lissi. His jewels seem to give him reason.
The Florentine brand Passavinti has renewed the affordable bijoux collections ♦︎
Traditional jewels, in the sense of respect for local history. That, in the case of Passavinti, is very tied with Florence. Founded by Romano Passavinti in 1970, the small Florentine Maison chose the jewelery road for everyone, but especially for those who love the great city that has marked the history of culture and art. The brand thus united a traditional line to the most pop of the seventies and eighties. Alongside the more traditional manufacturing techniques, Passavinti uses the industrial ones flourished in the wide area that extends from Florence to Arezzo.
The mix of tradition and production on a wider scale, with a modern design, accelerated in 2011 when the founder sold to two young entrepreneurs, Danilo Caccetta and Mirco Zoppini, who re-launched the brand with new ambitions. The choice of offering jewelery made of silver or bronze also widened the audience of potential customers who appreciate jewelery collections at popular prices and modern shapes, with city symbols such as the Palazzo Vecchio, which can turn into pendants For modular bracelets. Margherita Donato
Rebecca and Elizabeth going strong
The spring summer 2015 by Rebecca is named Elizabeth. The Florentine company, after the success of last year with the launch of the collection, has decided to not only propose it again, but has tripled it: three variants in bronze that change color from yellow to pink to white, with or without stones . Here the three lines:
Executive, from the name one understands that it is the most luxurious line. The design is the most reminds the first collection: the setting in gold plated bronze or burnished (there is also the two-color version) is always rectangular but becomes thicker so it seems almost twice in high and hosts larger stones from different amber tones and emerald cut on one step. Classic and sophisticated has a contemporary twist with the open ring with two stones.
Elegance, most romantic and feminine combines rectangles and rounded shapes like drops and ovals in pink and white bronze plated and rows of cubic zirconia that are the main decorative pattern of rings.
Emotional, essential and lighter plays on the contrast between bright metal portions and parts decorated with the classic pattern of the company name’s monogram repeated on the edges. Matilde de Bounvilles