Though today precious coral mostly comes from Hawaii, coastal Japan, the Mediterranean sea, the Red Sea, and even all around the world, Italy is considered the centre of coral jewellery making worldwide. Major workshops of coral jewellery have been located there from the ancient time. Coral embraces Italian history, culture, creativity and craftsmanship. Carrying strong cultural, symbolic and traditional values, coral jewellery from Italy has been highly recognised by consumers in the world especially in Asia.
Torre del Greco, a city near Naples, has been the top coral trading centre for over 200 years, offering the best quality of coral jewellery globally with high publicity. De Simone Fratelli srl, a family-run company specialised in making coral jewellery based in the city where the company selects raw materials, designs and makes jewellery, aspires to grow without losing sight of its past traditions. Over 150 years, the company has devoted to the careful selection of natural raw materials for making the highest-quality coral jewellery.
Fiammetta De Simone, the fourth generation of the family, told Hong Kong Jewellery: “We only select the best materials. Only in this way can we guarantee the quality of our products and sustain our company’s status in Italy and in the globe. Coral, a natural organic gemstone from the ocean, is becoming rarer and rarer. It is significant for us to secure the best source of quality materials.” De Simone Fratelli srl sources coral around the world depending on its size, colour, colouration evenness, and texture. According to her, in order to show the natural texture and preserve the value of the material, they sell coral jewellery without waxing it. With the masterly polishing technique at the factory in Torre del Greco, the De Simone family creates their own distinctive coral jewellery by focusing on the unique character of each creation.
“Coral is considered the world’s unique jewel that carries multi-faceted values. One of the aspects is that coral has a biological life before it is crafted into jewellery. It is the embodiment of history. That is why companies in Torre del Greco seek to shape the jewellery according to the natural contours of the coral but not vice versa. It is distinctive and hence priceless. Such an extraordinary jewel will surely have admirers. It also captivates the attention of those who still do not know it for all that it represents,” said Tommaso Mazza, president of Assocoral, an Italian national association of manufacturers, goldsmiths, dealers, commercial agents and designers of jewellery and objects with coral, cameo and related materials. He added that currently the Italian coral jewellery is introduced, promoted and distributed through individual companies and Assocoral. Despite the ever-changing global trends, the history and values inherited in Italian coral jewellery are immortal.
Le Sibille srl was established by three young women from Italy, wishing to recreate the spirit and essence of a typical Renaissance workshop. Taking inspirations from various styles of the Italian ancient goldsmith art in different periods, they draw on the ancient technique of ‘Roman Minute Mosaic’ or micromosaic, an 18th century miniaturised evolution of the ancient art of mosaic. Their exclusive creation, ‘The Micromosaic’, combining with red coral and tiny glass tiles called tesserae with different design patterns, is a contemporary and aristocratic interpretation of the past.
With the integration of the ancient arts and techniques in jewellery design, Le Sibille’s coral creation is distinctive among Italian coral jewellery companies. One of the three founders, Francesca Neri Serneri who is also the designer explained: “The concept of Le Sibille is to be a guardian of ancient Italian arts and reintroduce them to the modern world. We love the colours, shades and types of red coral. We introduced a coral jewellery line two years ago to meet the global demands especially from Japan, Korea and China.”
To bring more awareness to the features of Italian coral jewellery, Assocoral has organised events and projects which focus on the protection of coral, quality certifications, and the unique value of the craftsmanship. Tommaso Mazza expressed: “We organise events to advocate our visions and have received support from the audience. We explain to them that the current status of coral jewellery is connected with the history of generations of families living by the sea.”
Besides seminars and discussions held at Italian and international exhibitions, Assocoral has renovated and reopened the Museum of Coral in Torre del Greco which is unique in the world, and debuted an exhibition on coral and cameo, ‘Seduzione senza tempo’ (Timeless Seduction)at Vicenzaoro January 2015 with great success. According to Paola Guida, Italian trade commissioner of Trade Commission (ICE), ICE is planning to arrange this special exhibition in the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show 2016, showing the history of coral jewellery in Italy from the ancient to contemporary times.
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