THE ENDLESS PALETTE OF ITALIAN NATURE: JEWELRY BY FEDERICA RETTORE
Sardinia is a paradise on earth, where the sky meets the sea and the colors are so intense that they seem almost unreal. It's a place of great natural beauty and timeless charm.
Sophia Loren
The petals of this delicate flower ring, carved from horn, with little diamond drops, softly play games of light and shadows on the wearer's finger, perfectly balanced by the strict, geometric shape of the bracelet.
The Italian-born designer Federica Rettore takes inspiration from the colors of the Sea of Sardinia, with its breathtaking beauty.
Federica's pieces have always been vibrant and full of deep, bright and cheerful color. At the start of her career, she made jewelry in silk fabric, embroidered with multi-colored, semiprecious stones. From then on, her passion for vibrant, richly and unusually colored gems has been growing ever stronger.
My summer house in the island of Sardinia is the place where I get mostly inspired from; what attracts me the most and fulfils my soul, are the contrasts of colors and the driving force of natural elements I experience there.
Federica Rettore
Born and raised in Milan, Fedrica currently lives and works in Valenza, Italy, which is known as the "city of gold" due to its long history of fine jewelry production. Her father was a gemstone dealer, who would bring home gems from his travels around the world; her mother was a jewelry designer.
From a young age, Federica was surrounded by the tools, materials and inspiration that would eventually lead her to become a jewelry designer herself. She has a degree in architecture – the knowledge that she uses to design and structure her unique and innovative pieces. Besides, she is an accomplished painter, often incorporating her love of art into her designs, with pieces inspired by the works of Gustav Klimt and Wassily Kandinsky.
What moves my heart into designing my collection is nature, what the sea reveals, and the natural charm of stones; I believe that all stones possess healing and attracting energies.
Federica Rettore
In her designs, Federica uses a multitude of precious and semiprecious stones and materials: raw and rough-cut, textured and colored diamonds, emeralds, aquamarines, labradorites, chalcedonies, prasiolites, opals, amethysts, rhodonites, quartz, onyx, tanzanites, lapis lazuli, jaspers, and agate, maple wood, baroque pearls, nacre and enamel, which she masterfully incorporates into her sculptural, earthly and extravagant designs. She also uses humanely collected horns of African zebu – domestic cows living in Asia and Africa, with a characteristic fatty hump on their shoulders.
Combining these materials makes every piece uniquely exquisite, just like nature itself.
A master of precision and detail, Federica works hand in hand with a team of artisans in Italy who, using traditional techniques, create each piece by hand, ensuring that each and every one of them is of the highest quality.
Playful and whimsy, with a deep respect for the natural beauty of the materials she uses, Federica's versatile jewelry works just as well with a casual outfit as it does with an elegant evening gown.
Her design philosophy centres around the idea of creating pieces that can be worn every day, rather than just on special occasions: jewelry that is an extension of one's personal style, a very intimate item, and an expression of individuality.