Nardi

Even Nardi’s Venice at the next Brafa

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Anelli I Veneziani in oro e argento, con diamanti e ambra




The great jewels of Venice will be found in Brussels. From Sunday 29 January to Sunday 5 February 2023, the Brafa will return to the Belgian capital, one of the great world art, antiques and jewelery fairs, with six Maisons present in this edition. And among the pavilions of Brafa there will also be the Gioielleria Nardi, a historic Maison in Venice, known for its high quality production. Nardi announced that it will be present in Brussels with two collections of rings: masks in gold, enamel, colored stones and diamonds and Venetians in gold and silver, colored diamonds and faces engraved in amber.

Anelli Maschere in oro, smalto, gemme di colore e diamanti
Anelli Maschere in oro, smalto, gemme di colore e diamanti

Another symbol of Venice, the lion, has been transformed into an 18-karat gold and burnished silver brooch, set with white and brown diamonds. Nardi has been located in the historic headquarters in Piazza San Marco in Venice since 1925. The jeweler creatively reinterprets the culture and charm of the city on the lagoon through the processing of metals and precious stones. Among his most famous clients are Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Ernest Hemingway, Marilyn Monroe, the royals of Spain.
Spilla Leone in oro 18 carati e argento con diamanti
Spilla Leone in oro 18 carati e argento con diamanti

Among the six jewelers participating in the new edition of Brafa are Barbara Bassi (Italy, Cremona), Gioielleria Nardi (Italy, Venice), Bernard Bouisset (France, Béziers), Collectors Gallery (Beglio, Bruxelles), Epoque Fine Jewels (Belgium , Kortrijk), VKD Jewels (Netherlands, Uden). The presence of 130 international galleries from 15 countries is expected at the Brafa, with thousands of works of every style and time including paintings, sculptures, antique furniture, ceramics and jewels but also wunderkammers, African art and carpets.
Orecchini Mosaico in oro, bronzo, peridoti e diopsidi di Nardi
Orecchini Mosaico in oro, bronzo, peridoti e diopsidi di Nardi

Anelli I Veneziani in oro e argento, con diamanti e ambra
Anelli I Veneziani in oro e argento, con diamanti e ambra

Immagine da un'edizione passata del Brafa
Immagine da un’edizione passata del Brafa







The gorgeous jewels return to the Brussels Brafa

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Spilla Moretto di Nardi





Once the holidays are over, the great events for the jewelery are back: one of these is Brafa, an event that not only concerns art lovers, but also collectors of high-quality precious items. The Brafa in 2020 is scheduled from Sunday 26 January to Sunday 2 February and takes place as usual in Brussels, in the evocative Tour & Taxis docs (Avenue du Port 86 C). The Brafa Art Fair is also one of the oldest art fairs in the world and in 2020 celebrates 65 years of activity.

Spilla Moretto di Nardi
Spilla Moretto di Nardi

They are many the high jewelry pieces on display: For example, in homage to Belgium there is the splendid brooch that the Nardi jeweler of Venice has created for Queen Paola of Liège and that she presents in Brussels for her debut at Brafa. The brooch is made in different variations, with turquoise and coral, or with rubies and sapphires.
Bracciale di Lalique, 1920
Bracciale di Lalique, 1920

There will also be many early twentieth-century jewels, including pendants with the “wisteria fairy” (Chamarande) or an Art Deco tiara by Chaumet, made in 1909 as a wedding ornament for Countess de Heeren (Epoque Fine Jewels) . Among the curiosities, a gold bracelet with the prehistoric Triceratopo (Bernard Buisset).

BRAFA 2020 – Edition 65
Sunday, January 26 – Sunday, February 2, 2020
Tour & Taxis, Avenue du Port 88,
BrusselsTimes: 11 am-7pm
(Thursday, January 30, late opening until 10pm)
Entrance fees: full price € 25, under 16 free, € 16-26, € 10.
Catalog € 15.
Info and tickets: www.brafa.art

Anelli di Boucheron in platino e diamanti
Anelli di Boucheron in platino e diamanti
Boucheron, collana con coralli, circa 1960
Boucheron, collana con coralli, circa 1960
Bracciale di Cartier Art Déco, 1935
Bracciale di Cartier Art Déco, 1935
Castellani, collana archeological style, 1880
Castellani, collana archeological style, 1880
Una tiara di Chaumet Belle époque, 1909
Una tiara di Chaumet Belle époque, 1909

Bouisset, orecchini con diamanti Dormeuse
Bouisset, orecchini con diamanti Dormeuse







The brooch of the scandal is Italian

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Marie Christine von Reibnitz, principessa del Kent, con la spilla di Nardi





The pin with the Moor of Venice, which has caused scandal at Buckingham Palace, is Italian. But it is not racist. Here is the story ♦ ︎
It’s all a misunderstanding. The brooch that has sent Buckingham Palace into crisis was made by an Italian jeweler, but does not have a racist vocation. When, before Christmas, Marie Christine von Reibnitz, princess of Kent married to Michael, the first cousin of Queen Elizabeth, showed up at the royal palace for lunch wearing a brooch that depicted a Moor, she did not think she would raised a controversy over the usual social media. The brooch, however, had a strong impact, because it was linked to the fact that Prince Harry’s official girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has a black-skinned mother. In short, it would have been a provocation.
Then the official apologies arrived: a spokeswoman for the princess said, later, that Marie Christine von Reibnitz was “very sorry and distressed for causing an offense”. And that, on the other hand, had worn the brooch many times without anyone having anything to say. Although, in truth, the same princess had in the past committed some gaffe that had been emphasized by the newspapers.
One fact remains: the brooch with the blackamoor is a racist symbol? Nardi, the Italian jeweler who made the jewel, and many others of the same kind, explains that this is not the case. The Moretto is a traditional figure of the Renaissance in Venice, so much so that William Shakespeare also uses a black-skinned man, Othello, for one of the most famous tragedies set in a Venetian colony, as was at that time Cyprus. The image of the Moor is recurrent in the works of art and jewelery of 18th-century Venice. And many tourists buy this classic image of the history of Venetian art without any racist intention.
Nardi has a shop in Piazza San Marco, is a traditional family business and produces jewelry from the late twenties. «The brooch belongs to the Renaissance collection», the jeweler explained. And it has no discriminatory meaning, but if anything it is an icon that belongs to a historical period. Perhaps, in short, the real scandal is the ignorance of history and art. Rudy Serra




Marie Christine von Reibnitz, principessa del Kent, con la spilla di Nardi
Marie Christine von Reibnitz, principessa del Kent, con la spilla di Nardi
Nardi, pendente con rubini e diamanti
Nardi, pendente con rubini e diamanti
Spilla Moretto con diamanti
Spilla Moretto con diamanti
Spilla in oro, argento, zaffiri, rubini e perle
Spilla in oro, argento, zaffiri, rubini e perle
Spilla in oro con zaffiri gialli e arancio
Spilla in oro con zaffiri gialli e arancio
Spilla Moretto in oro e argento con zaffiri neri e diamanti fancy
Spilla Moretto in oro e argento con zaffiri neri e diamanti fancy

Spilla Moro di Venezia in oro e zaffiri rosa
Spilla Moro di Venezia in oro e zaffiri rosa