The grandiloquent Senate Chamber in the Palazzo Ducale in Venice was bedecked at the weekend in a profusion of giant diamonds, princely jewels, and magnificent Italian pearls from Dolce & Gabbana’s new Alta Gioielleria collection.
Will anyone spend six figures – or more – on fashion that can only be experienced in the digital realm? Dolce & Gabbana thinks the answer is yes.
The designers, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, have included precious design nods to the city that hosts their show in the collection. As we sipped aperitivos, the age-old symbol of Venice, the gondola, floated past, dangling from a necklace of lagoon-coloured aquamarines, amethysts, sapphires and diamonds. The boat itself is created from white Istrian stone, which was used to build the 14th century palazzo and many other Venetian buildings. Subtle Istrian stone skulls are also masked in gold and diamonds in other pieces, while minuscule works of art, made from hand-blown Murano glass, feature as charms and decorative details.
.jpg)
“How heavy are they?” asked one client, admiring the miniature glass chalices. They were found by Domenico and turned into earrings encased in a twisted golden net of filigree studded with rubies, emeralds and seed pearls, exquisitely crafted, like tiny goblets from which Constance, Queen of Sicily might have sipped wine. The heftiest in the collection weighs in at 40g – more than worth the effort to wear something so unique.
The Dolce & Gabbana jewellery oeuvre has significance when it comes to the preservation of Italian crafts and heritage skills. “Every creation here is an affirmation of the artistic excellence of our country,” Domenico says. “That is what lies at the origin of our high jewellery of Venice collection.” Mosaics, like the stones used in the crypt of St Mark’s Basilica, are the stars of the show. There are few artisans left who can produce micro mosaics using ancient methods of glass paste spinning, a long and meticulous process during which enamel is heated over flame and “hand spinned”. The sticks are allowed to cool and solidify before being split by hand, one by one, into minuscule tiles, or tesseras.
For this collection, the designers worked with craftsmen using the last existing historical furnace in the city. Three large religious inspired micro-mosaic ovals on gold leaf are suspended from one pearl necklace, displayed with a matching pair of earrings. Other pieces feature Venetian landscape scenes of the Basilica and the Grand Canal, in the style of a miniature Canaletto masterpiece framed by gemstones.
Elsewhere are monumental citrine, amethyst, and pink beryls that mimic the shades of the pink inlaid marble of the Palazzo as the sun goes down. It’s no secret that the designers love to express the joy of life through colour and excess: here a 31-carat electric-blue Paraiba tourmaline; there a fancy coloured 110-carat yellow diamond.
.jpg)
This is what Walter Veneruz, jewellery and watches director at Dolce & Gabbana, calls the “Gattopardo” effect. “We always ask when anything is made in the workshop if it would fit in the the ballroom scene in Visconti’s film The Leopard.” He’s referring to the silver screen adaptation of the classic novel by Giuseppe Tomasi de Lampedusa, which chronicles the life of a 19th century Sicilian nobleman. The diamond pieces passed the test with flying colours. Blue, pink, yellow and dazzling white, to be precise.
This is the first time Dolce & Gabbana have, in their words, tiptoed into the diamond sector. “We wanted them to be big and perfect,” explains Domenico. “Clients were asking for stones they could invest in.” One such piece is the 54.88-carat D flawless Constanza, which drops from a Renaissance style collar of dazzling white diamond medallions. “We were looking for something very rare,” explains Veneruz. “And when I first saw this stone, my heart skipped a beat.” The designers have followed each diamond’s traceability from mines in Botswana, insisting on certifications from their place of origin, as well as an international body in the GIA [Gemological Institute of America).
The following day, the micro-mosaic story continued in the sombre and sacred environment of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco. Up the grand stone staircase into the Sala Superiore, listening to Franz Schubert’s “Ava Maria”, we viewed the men’s Alta Sartoria jewellery. The ornamental brooches, watches and cufflinks also shone a spotlight on craftsmanship. An enamel cross, capped by a golden coronet and cabochon sapphire at its centre, stood out against its emerald green and gold brocade backdrop. Another that caught my eye was a diamond skull set amongst coral roses with a pearl studded crown, shown alongside cufflinks which are mostly micro mosaics, or hand painted miniature Venetian views. The collection includes six new watches, including the automatic winding San Marco, inspired by the great 15th century clock tower in St Mark’s Square. The signs of the zodiac stand proud on the lapis lazuli centre, surrounded by finely chiselled Roman numerals around the periphery.