Description
Florentine Style Ring (18k gold, sterling silver, reconstituted alexandrite).
Handmade by Pestelli Creazioni. Tunnel on metal with typical motifs of acanthus leaves and lilies. Finished with burin engraving.
Ring size: 16 (adjustable on request).
Stone: alexandrite (reconstituted)
Alexandrite boasts the distinction of being the rarest gemstone in the world . Its rarity is emphasized by the gem’s ability to change color based on light. Currently, the alexandrite deposits are not very large and the old Urals mines are depleted. The gem owes its name to Tsar Alexander II because the very first alexandrite crystals were discovered on his birthday in 1830, in the Ural emerald mines.
Historical notes on the Florentine style
The most typical Florentine style included silver and yellow gold. It was born in an undefined period in which the white gold league still did not exist. All the great jewelry, up until the early twentieth century, included white metal or platinum or silver. The style spread widely in Florence towards the end of the nineteenth century thanks to the recovery of the neo-Renaissance style which included typical stylistic elements of Greek classicism (acanthus leaves, palms, girali). It is a style that highlights the skills of the goldsmith who performs it, especially in the techniques of fretwork and engraving. In the twentieth century it was the basis for the “Buccellati” style in which the tunnels became more geometric and minutes.
Stages of Florentine style work
1) The first phase of work is the fretwork of the parts decorated with typical motifs with spirals, lilies and acanthus leaves. The central slab, after having been “marked” with the decorative motif, is first drilled at the openings and then perforated to open the right spaces.
2) The properly prepared slabs are welded together (sides and central part) and provided with the settings for the stones.
3) The whole ring is engraved to revive and define the perforated decoration and the stones are added.
Handmade in Florence, Italy