Otello

Villa, cufflinks with double fantasy

Published on
Bat Gemelli con onice, oro bianco 18 carati




The endless series of cuff links of Gioielleria Villa in Milan: for men or women, combines craftsmanship and goldsmith virtuosity.
There are jewelry for men that the Big Brother lovers wear without moderation. There are others which, if are looked, tear a smile, curiosity and admiration for their ingenious imagination. Fall into this category the cufflinks, one of the few occasions for a man to wear jewelry also in formal occasions. As the tie, a pair of twins may constitute an transgression on a shirt under a gray suit, a pinstripe, a blue blazer.

Gemelli da polso in agata bianca e oro bianco
Gemelli da polso in agata bianca e oro bianco

If, then, the twins are those Jewellery Villa di Milano, every eccentricity is welcome thanks to the imagination and precious workmanship of a vast set of twins. They come in all types, from classic with a geometric shape, those representing cars, helicopters, animals, hobbies, sports. But, perhaps, the most sophisticated being those that have the form of buttons, that is, the element it replaces. These twins are pieces of quality jewelry and, therefore, have a variable cost: from a few hundred Euros, up to thousands of Euros for the pair in gold and rubies. In brackets: nothing prevents that are wore by a woman.
Gemelli da polso con rubini, diamanti, onice
Gemelli da polso con rubini, diamanti, onice

Gioielleria Villa, in any case, not only offers twins, but also exquisite pieces of jewelry (we’ll talk about in another article). It also has a long tradition: is born in 1876, while Giuseppe Verdi composed Othello, from the work of Benvenuto Villa. Who also has a curious history: the goldsmith, sculptor and alchemist, has tried in vain for life the formula to produce a black gold alloy. Example of his creativity is an extremely modern sculpture silver Cube collapsible with which he won the gold medal at the famous Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889.

Gemelli con diaspro rosso, onice, oro giallo 18 carati
Gemelli con diaspro rosso, onice, oro giallo 18 carati
Bat Gemelli con onice, oro bianco 18 carati
Bat Gemelli con onice, oro bianco 18 carati

Gemelli da polso in onice e oro bianco 18 carati
Gemelli da polso in onice e oro bianco 18 carati
Gemelli a forma di testa di cavallo con diaspro e giada
Gemelli a forma di testa di cavallo con diaspro e giada







The brooch of the scandal is Italian

Published on
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