MILAN — Pomellato is celebrating its sixth high jewelry collection by exploring and revisiting the three main formative decades in its history.
However, creative director Vincenzo Castaldo underscored that there is “nothing nostalgic” about the collection. Rather, it delivers “a moment of awareness that we can communicate with a very sophisticated language and know-how, extraordinary unique pieces and creativity without limits.”
The collection is called “1967,” the year Pomellato was founded by Pino Rabolini in Milan.
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Castaldo focused on what he called “the three golden decades,” from the ‘70s to the ‘90s, and “how they created the identity of the brand in a very structured way.”
That said, he clarified that this does not mean that no other significant development took place after the ‘90s. But he compared the first three decades to schooling, a path of education through to college.
“There’s much talk around preserving the DNA of brands and we wanted to celebrate it with pride. What we are today is mainly due to the work done and the choices made through those three decades. There was a clear logic behind each one,” said Castaldo, who joined the brand in 2003 and was named to his current role in 2015. That year, Kering took control of Pomellato.
“It has been very interesting for me to retrace the path. I saw how it was all clear and defined from the beginning. This has been an almost archeological work.”
The first decade positioned Pomellato firmly as part of the Milanese goldsmith tradition, hinging on know-how and craftsmanship. “The values of the brand were forged right from the beginning, since early on Pino Rabolini wanted to create a brand that would celebrate and respect the tradition and the Italian and Milanese craft.”
Pomellato’s chains marked the ‘70s, the first signature jewels for the brand. Castaldo marveled at how “changing the factors, the chains allow you to have unlimited solutions, as they are based on mathematical criteria and pragmatic assets. They have a super-rational origin.”
Cue the “Chain Cascade” necklaces designed by Castaldo, an innovative dual-chain construcion of white diamond pavé — sets featuring an internal chain with minimal, round links nestled within an external chain of larger oval links “evoking a frozen waterfall,” he said. At its heart lies an extraordinary, rare Ceylon sapphire of 22.23 carats. Another such design stands out with a 22.58-carat mandarin garnet.
The Art of Chains bracelet celebrates layering as four distinct chains, in rose and white gold, two adorned with pavé-set white diamonds, interweave. The Precious spring ring transforms from belt to bracelet to pendant, crafted in rose gold with pavé-set white diamonds and accented with baguette-cut diamonds. “The sophisticated technical mastery prove Pomellato’s masterful approach to integrating clasps as distinctive design elements,” said Castaldo.
Previous creative director Sergio Silvestris joined the brand in the ‘80s and started working with Rabolini, bringing “a more feminine, warmer and decontracté vision and sensuous, rounded designs,” Castaldo opined. “The ‘80s were years of hedonism, they brought a sense of lighness and pleasure. If I had to think of a claim, it would be creative freedom.” To contextualize the moment, at the time several jewelry brands were still developing “jewels with small flowers and hearts. Pomellato was quite nonconformist back then, working on its own bold identity.”
A standout in this chapter are the Asimmetrico Tanzanite necklace and ring, “exemplifying Pomellato’s technical virtuosity,” said the designer. The necklace centers around a spectacular irregular-cut 55.96-carat tanzanite enhanced by a custom-made bezel setting, embraced in a flexible design in rose gold. The jewel’s construction features articulated gold plates pavé-set with white diamonds. Each of the 78 modules has been individually crafted while its assembly required 700 hours of craftsmanship, Castaldo pointed out. A matching ring, featuring a 37.73-carat tanzanite with violet-blue depths, completes the set.
The Asimmetrico aquamarine necklace in a rose gold flexible chain displays seven fancy-cut aquamarines totaling 32.77 carats with a white diamond pavé of 2,847 diamonds for 31.46 carats.
The Rivière Zigzag Green Tourmalines celebrates asymmetry with a rose gold zigzag chain, pavé-set with diamonds, nestling a spectacular range of green tourmalines totaling 47.31 carats. The unconventional positioning of the center stones also point to the artistry of Pomellato’s goldsmiths.
The ’90s were the years of “the explosion of color, reflecting the vitality and strength of Milan, which was established as the capital of creativity,” said Castaldo. “Colors communicate emotions, are very evocative and became predominant in the Pomellato collections.”
The Lagoon Bavarole sparkles with 47 irregular-cut green tourmalines placed in a graduated cascade. “Each stone has been meticulously selected to capture different shades of green,” said Castaldo, and they are complemented by a rope chain pavé-set with white diamonds. A sense of movement is further created through the interplay of different-sized gems, irregular cuts and dynamic positioning.
The Marvelous Griffes comprise 10 pairs of earrings in rose gold, each featuring oval cabochon-cut gems — including aquamarines, watermelon tourmalines, tanzanites, green tourmalines, indigolites, purplish-red and brownish-red rubellites, peridots, mandarin garnets and heliodors — combined with pavé-set gems. The pairings of cabochon gems and pavé setting create either harmonious ton-sur-ton effects or playful contrasts, enhanced by geometric openwork.
Two rose gold Pin-up rings feature a 28.42-carat oval-cut aquamarine and a 29.03-carat oval-cut morganite respectively, with diamond pavé griffes.