The Story of our Modern Heirlooms

Introducing The Atelier Collection. A capsule of modern heirloom jewellery that’s the natural extension of our intelligent design ethos. Crafted in Italy by expert artisans, these investment pieces have a clever advantage: designed to work for multiple occasions, with multiple outfits, in multiple ways and - most importantly - for multiple generations.

Like everything we do, The Atelier Collection was the result of a lot of planning and research, starting with finding the right artisans to bring this vision to life. That’s how we landed in Florence, Tuscany, at the factory of goldsmiths Fulvio Casamonti. 

The third-generation company is helmed by Marco Casamonti, and has remained a family-run business since its founding by his father in the 1950s. Fulvio Casamonti originally made gold jewellery, which he would sell on the Ponte Vecchio - Florence’s iconic shop-and-market-lined bridge. The rising price of gold forced the company to change direction, and it began making custom silver ornaments until the 1980s, when Judith Leiber paid a chance visit to the factory. The iconic designer commissioned compact mirrors and cigarette cases for her brand, which led the company to transition back into creating jewellery.

Today, what sets Fulvio Casamonti apart from the rest is its innovative and creative approach to everything it does. By utilising a mix of modern methods like 3D printing alongside traditional hand-finishing techniques, there’s no hinge too intricate or mechanism too difficult for them to master. Which comes in handy when they’re tasked with the brief of intelligent design.

There’s a lot that goes into creating the collection, and it starts with an initial cast of each piece. Once the factory receives the jewellery casts in their base materials and initial shape, the in-house process begins. It starts by securing the pieces and filing them by hand to remove any rough edges or imperfections. Then they're polished, not to create shine, but to make sure there’s no casting residue left over and the surface is prepared for the next steps.

Next comes engraving, like our subtle M branding or the swan emblem on our Cygnet Ring. Other motifs like the raised Swan logo on the domed Cygnet Ring are created by soldering the piece afterwards to give the embossed finish.

Then, the jewellery is electroplated. An electric current is used to coat an object with a thin layer of metal, and in this case it’s adding a layer of 24kt gold over the brass base. The product is polished again depending on the desired final look; in the instance of our modern heirlooms, we’ve gone for a softer finish. After assembly, each piece is carefully packaged in our drawstring bags and boxes, ready to find their forever home.

Discover the full jewellery collection here. 

Learn about the intelligent design behind each piece in our in-depth Intelligent Jewels Editorial.