Dolce&Gabbana: Alta Gioielleria starringCatherine de Medici
Dolce&Gabbana held a three-day presentation in Florence for their
Alta Gioielleria collection, where Catherine de Medici was the central
piece.
Presented inside Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria
Novella, which celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2012, the
collection’s presentation started on Wednesday and the main exhibit
was a golden necklace, at whose centre two golden cherubs carried
a rare crystal scent bottle.
Officina Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, the world’s oldest
pharmacy had its first perfume created for Catherine de Medici in
1553, who brought ampules of the scent over the Alps when she
went to marry Henry of Valois, the future king of France. A bergamot-
based essence named 'Acqua della Regina; the perfume continues
to be produced today and is known all over the world as Acqua di
S.M. Novella;
Dolce and Gabbana’s bottle carries real scent allowing a lady to
perfume herself throughout an evening. Like every object in this
collection, it is a unique piece.
“Finally! It’s great to be back. Especially at the centre of the greatest
art movement in history, the Renaissance,” enthused Stefano
Gabbana as he toured the jewellery display inside the
storied pharmacy.
Every piece for this collection was made in Dolce&Gabbana’s
jewellery studio located in Legnano, west of Milan, a decade ago.
“We are lucky enough to work for two genius designers, with great
imaginations, and our team love the challenge of producing their
elegant and exuberant ideas,” explained Walter Veneruz, the house’s
jewellery and watch director.
The men’s jewellery was all presented inside a sacristy underneath
frescoes of the Passion of Christ and the martyrdom of various
saints. The ‘Atlanticus’ watch was a Renaissance inscribed by hand
with sketches from Leonardo da Vinci illustrations.
Superb Byzantine style cufflinks with rhodolite garnets came in at an
entry-level figure of 30,000 euros, while the most expensive watch
was the Ferdinand II, with a face of green jade, done with golden
intarsia, at 595,000 euros.
The three-day exhibition continues in the Tuscan capital on Thursday
evening with an alta moda runway show.
By Maria Peftouloglou