Handmade Gold Jewelry
Vicenza
Vicenza, in the northern region of Veneto is at the heart of the booming fine art jewelry industry in Italy. 40,000 people are employed by 10,000 business, using 1,500 tons of silver and 500 tons of gold per year. The area is established as a world leading producer of gold and silver jewelry and is home to some of the top jewelry designers in the world.
Beachcomber necklace
Exclusive Italian Jewelry
The rich and powerful all around the world have always used luxury gold jewelry as a symbol of status. The earliest gold jewelry found in Italy was Etruscan. However, these pieces were not worn by them but were intended to accompany them to the after life. The pieces dating back to the earliest Etruscan civilisations were not made by them but were brought in from around the Middle East. The Etruscan goldsmiths did not reach the peak of their handmade jewelry production ability until the 6th or 7th century BC.
Etruscan gold jewelry
Luxury Jewelry Italy
By the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, Greek goldsmiths had reached the highest level of skill ever attained in the production of exclusive Italian jewelry. The Romans continued to develop skills in gold jewelry, but also worked with precious stones and colored glass. Many of the jewelry designs involved coiled snakes.
Roman luxury jewelry
Later, in the Middle Ages, the royal courts and the catholic church were the only people with access to fine art jewelry and it wasn't until the Renaissance period that it became used within the wider society. During this period in Florence, many powerful Goldsmith's Guilds were established. Precious stones became more easily accessible, and the whole Italian fine art jewelry industry began to flourish.
Renaissance Italian exclusive jewelry
Italian Fine Art Jewelry
The ground-breaking creativity that has become associated with the Renaissance period also influenced luxury jewelry production in Italy, which became increasingly intricate and imaginative. Many of the most famous Italian Renaissance artists, such as Donatello, Brunelleschi and Botticelli, trained as goldsmiths at the begining of their careers.
