This very heavy book, curated by seasoned jewellery expert Carol Woolton, is difficult to hold and to read. It is impossible to simply flip through. Best you put the book on a table, sit properly down on a chair in front of it and turn page by page in a careful manner. The volume oozes luxury, the gold engraved letters on a black background are underlined by the pages of the book being covered in gold.
Opening the book, one enters a world of pure beauty and richness. The attention to detail is fascinating. One can see pieces built around the topic of architecture, flora and fauna, paintings, the age of Renaissance in general, and of course Sicily in all its colourfulness. The book gives a great overview, showing e.g. paintings in full and in detail next to the Dolce&Gabbana jewels, whose inspiration was drawn from them.
Whilst some jewellery brands focus on geometry, clean lines, and simple forms, showing style through understatement, nothing of this resonates with the Dolce&Gabbana Alta Gioielleria collection. Whimsical details are integrated in pieces in many different ways. As the perfection and beauty of the jewels are not given their due only through the detail of the earring shown on the front page, I added one page from the inside to explain better what makes that collection so special. The front-page picture is greatly magnified and gives and impression of the extent of whimsical details. Probably the detail shown is in reality not bigger than 1 or 2 cm, whilst the full earring might have quite some presence.
For that reason, and because the artists draw so much on Sicilian colours and designs for their inspiration, we should look at page 14 in the book. It shows the drawing of a necklace, with some of the realized parts around it.
The necklace revolves around the theme of lemons: leaves, blossoms in various stages, and fruit. Look at the beauty of the drawing and the real pieces next to it – the colours show all shades between yellow, white, gold, and green. The necklace must be easily 45 to 50 cm long and is probably heavy to wear. You can be quite sure, wearing it, no one will look you in the face, but all will stare at the exquisite yellow gold lemon fruit. The picture has the handwritten addition that the yellow stones are sapphires, that yellow and white gold are used, and that the leaves are made and painted by hand.
The book is full of such beautiful drawings next to the jewels. The pieces are explained in loving detail.
The Alta Gioielleria collection, especially the really expensive pieces like e.g. the lemon necklace, are only presented to potential buyers on request. On the other hand, quite a lot of pieces below 100.000€, e.g. from the Eleganza collection, are shown on the Alta Moda website of Dolce&Gabbana. The Alta Moda and Alta Gioielleria collections are presented together on a special website; one can easily google it. The website is rather difficult to navigate, but gives information on exhibition dates of the collections as well.
Carol Woolton, the curator of the book, has written many books on jewellery. Over the years she has become one of the most known writers on matters of jewellery. She was jewellery editor for the British Vogue (magazine) for over 20 years, and also worked for other publications. Today she is not only a podcaster, successfully self-employed, and a curator of jewellery exhibitions, but also active in other realms always in the orbit of jewellery. On her website she shares also information on the foundation she created with other, likeminded, jewellery experts to preserve knowledge and mentor young people.
With “ALTA GIOIELLERIA – Masterpieces of High Jewellery” by Dolce&Gabbana, the designers set themselves and their creations a long-lasting memorial.
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana made their brand a worldwide consumer heaven. Just checking today, one can buy Panettone cakes for Christmas in beautiful boxes for 50-100€. Not many brands in private ownership created such a wide range of products, from fashion to jewellery, books to perfumes, furnishings to food.
Dolce&Gabbana haven been active now for 40 years with their own brand, resisted (according to my knowledge) all attempts to buy them out, and prepared for the continuity of their legacy after their deaths with a foundation. Currently, though, they are both in their 60s and it seems as if they are at the peak of their creative powers.
The love and connection to Sicily is something they cherish. Inside the book, on page 82, they quote the most famous German poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “Sicily is the key to everything”. Goethe’s Italian travels from 1786-1788 resulted in a book and set the seed for the German ‘Sehnsucht’ for Italy, the land where the lemons blossom.
Somehow Dolce&Gabbana, themselves Italian, Domenico Dolce even from Sicily, transport this spirit to the world, more than other brands. Their high jewellery collection is certainly the most difficult to acquire for anybody not being a millionaire. Through “ALTA GIOIELLERIA – Masterpieces of High Jewellery” those of us less affluent can bring the beauty, the spirit, the colours, the sun of Sicily into our homes.
All rights to the book belong to:
Dolce&Gabbana: ALTA GIOIELLERIA, Masterpieces of High Jewellery, 2023, curated by Carol Woolton, published first by Mondadori Libri S.p.A, distributed in English throughout the World by Rizzoli International Publications Inc, 300 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010, USA, printed in Italy, ISBN: 978-8-8918-3694-6