Beautiful, Innovative Italian Jewels on Display at JCK Las Vegas

Nuovi Gioielli; De Simone Fratelli; Donato Jewels

Songa, based in Milan, is one of the largest jewelry wholesalers in Italy and sells its pieces all over the world, including approximately 20 clients in the U.S., says Mara Constanza Ruggieri. The company offers jewels in a range of price points and styles from 8k to 18k gold. They purchases jewels from about 300 factories throughout Italy and have a 3,200-square-foot showroom in Milan that is stocked with upwards of 35,000 items at any given time for buyers from the jewelry trade. They say “[Buyers] can come in and select whatever they want whenever they need it.” Customer fulfillment is done seamlessly online through the company’s B2B website. It’s difficult to believe the company was founded in 1935 by Antonio Songa, a goldsmith, who decided to transform his jewelry manufacturing firm into a wholesale business. “It was the right commercial approach,” Ruggieri said. It sure was
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It’s almost impossible to do a story on Italian jewels and not come upon a company from Florence, long known for its design, craftsmanship and art. Ferrari Firenze specializes in producing handmade jewels in the tradition of the region. About 20 craftsmen work in a rustic old house located in what the company describes as the “greenest hills on the South of Florence.” The jewels they produce are designed by hand and through computer-aided design (CAD). The 18k gold jewels are known for their movement: they spin and rattle. Some pieces sparkle with light, such as stackable bracelets made with stems of yellow and white gold paved with diamonds and each stem capped with a diamond on top.

There’s a great deal of variety in the design from pieces that are larger sculptural to delicate and small. The company says it uses certified conflict-free diamonds and sustainably sourced colored gems.

Neonero is another company on the cutting edge of innovative manufacturing. It specializes in 14k to 22k gold jewels in distinct openworked designs created by laser cutting. This modern technique produces jewels that have the appearance of traditional handcrafted styles (pictured left). High polished finishes give these pieces a modern appeal. The designs from laser cuts create a number of shapes that range from honeycomb to floral arrangements. Cristiano Marini, Neonero export manager, said it’s the company’s first time exhibiting at JCK Las Vegas. She states, “We met many people and we hope to have new customers and new business in the U.S.”

Gold and silver chains sounds simple enough but to create them on a high level they must come in an endless number of designs, be produced in an efficient operational environment and ensure that the pieces adhere to the most precise use of precious materials. To do this requires what are arguably the most advanced manufacturing techniques in the jewelry world. Examples of companies exhibiting at JCK Las Vegas that specialize in the production of chains are Alessi Domenico and Multiform.

Alessi Domenico “works on products that are strong and beautiful,” said Alice Alessi, Sales and Marketing Director, also noting that the company is the second largest chain provider in Vicenza. “We have the capability to produce two tons of chains every three weeks,” she said. The U.S. is the company’s biggest market. One of the ways its chains maintain strength is by employing a Galvanic process, which uses electrolysis to cover the surface with a metallic layer. One of the main products the company was promoting using this technique was its Miami Cuban Doubleface gold chains, which come in a range of colors, including black (pictured center).

Meanwhile, Multiform combines hand-crafted techniques with modern manufacturing innovations to produce a variety of sturdy gold chains from 10k to 18k, primarily for men (pictured right). The company also produces gold bracelets and rings.

This year’s JCK Las Vegas marked a couple of firsts. It was the first time the annual jewelry trade fair was held at the Sands Expo & Convention Center since 2010, when the fair moved three miles south to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. While Italian manufacturers always had a pavilion, Bella Italia is a new concept. The pavilion is managed by Reed Exhibitions and by most accounts everyone thought it was an improvement. No exhibitor is ever totally happy with their booth locations, but most think the location on level 2 near an entryway to the show floor was an upgrade over their Mandalay Bay location. Most saw the facility itself as a good step forward from the previous space. 

Roberto Rossi of Multiform says the company has been exhibiting at JCK Las Vegas for 10 years and he prefers the Sands over Mandalay Bay. “I like it 100% better,” he said, adding that “We’ve done good business.”

Cristina Delucca of Nuovi Gioielli said her company has been exhibiting at JCK since 1998 and like Rossi, prefers the atmosphere in the Sands. “We’ve had a very good show so far and we are much happier than we were last year,” she said.

To learn more about Italian Jewelry, visit teijewelry.com, follow #TheExtraordinaryItalianJewelry on Instagram and @ExtraItaJewelry on Twitter.