Dolce & Gabbana's record-breaking high jewelry: "It's more beloved every year."

"The response has been exceptional; sales have never been so strong since the birth of fine jewelry," Walter Veneruz, head of Dolce&Gabbana's Jewelry and Watches division, spoke with justifiable pride following the presentation of the new collection, inspired by Rome and its two main souls: imperial antiquity and the Dolce Vita years. "I believe it is precisely the reference to these two eras in which jewelry was experienced as a personal joy that has fueled the collection's success," he explained. "But in reality, every year there is great anticipation, also because customers are increasingly aware that they are not just purchasing a precious object, but a unique work of art."

As has been the case since its inception in 2012, and in keeping with its philosophy of haute couture and haute couture, Dolce&Gabbana's fine jewelry is a sort of manifesto that highlights Italian excellence and goldsmith culture through techniques and materials: after the Sardinian coccoi bread , which became a jewel in 2024, the coral from Torre del Greco, and the Venetian murrine, the Roman collection features micromosaics, emblems of the city's goldsmith tradition, and the imperial coins purchased from Moruzzi numismatics, one of the capital's most celebrated shops.

"Ninety percent of the work is done in our Legnano workshop (which makes Dolce & Gabbana perhaps the only fashion house with its own jewelry and watchmaking atelier, ed.), but for some special projects we collaborate with companies from all over Italy, to enhance and interpret local traditions," Veneruz explains. "In Naples, for example, we used Bourbon filigree, and in Venice we turned to the same workshop that produces the gold tesserae for the mosaics of St. Mark's Basilica. Our jewelry tells a story, about a region and its people."

Among the bas-reliefs and carvings on Istrian stone and the elements that recall the city's architecture, the Roman collection also features some sculpture-pendants made of marble dust. They offer a poignant interpretation of antiquity, reminiscent of works by Igor Mitoraj, but are the result of cutting-edge technical research: "We have a motto: 'Nothing is impossible.' You just have to figure out how to do it. When we received the instructions from the designers, who follow every step with the utmost care, to create these small wearable statues, we began testing and experimenting. We managed to obtain a paste of Carrara marble dust, widely used in ancient statuary, held together by a special resin, with which we created durable and very lightweight sculptures."

The Legnano laboratory even created the "Dolce&Gabbana" gem cut, a play on the number 13, a lucky number for the fashion house ("One day, Mr. Gabbana brought us a drop from a chandelier, telling us he wanted a gem cut in a similar way"). And to accommodate the division's growth, the offices have already been expanded three times over the course of their history: today, they house 65 people, including technicians and administrators, as well as a gemologist, with whom Veneruz travels the world to search for stones capable of interpreting Dolce&Gabbana's passion for color in an original way, alongside more classic gems, such as kunzites, rubellites, and morganites. Sometimes, the results are unprecedented and significant for the entire industry: "When no one was using them yet, we purchased many Paraiba tourmalines, which are among the most sought-after and rare gems today," she explains. "We just bought some cobalt blue spinels that we'll use in the next collection. They are extremely rare, even rarer than the Paraiba, and I am sure that in the near future they will be increasingly sought after."