Dolce&Gabbana, record-breaking haute joaillerie: 'More loved every year'

"The response has been exceptional, sales have never gone so well since haute joaillerie was born": speaks in a justifiably proud tone Walter Veneruz, head of Dolce&Gabbana's jewellery and watches division, the day after the presentation of the new collection inspired by Rome and two of its souls in particular, imperial antiquity and the Dolce Vita years. "I believe that it is precisely the reference to these two eras in which jewellery was experienced as a personal joy that underpinned the success of the collection," he explains. "But in reality, every year there is a lot of expectation, also because customers are increasingly aware that they are not just buying a precious object, but a unique, artistic creation.

As has been the case since 2012, the year that saw its birth, and in keeping with the philosophy of haute couture and haute couture, Dolce&Gabbana's haute couture jewellery is a sort of manifesto that enhances Italian excellence and goldsmith culture through techniques and materials: after the pane coccoi sardinian bread that became a jewel in 2024, coral from Torre del Greco, Venetian murrine, the Roman collection includes micromosaics, emblems of the city's goldsmithing tradition, and imperial coins purchased from the Moruzzi numismatic shop, one of the most famous shops in the capital.

"90% of the production takes place in our Legnano workshop (which makes Dolce&Gabbana perhaps the only fashion maison to have its own jewellery and watchmaking atelier, ed.), but for some particular creations we collaborate with realities from all over Italy, to enhance and interpret local traditions,' says Veneruz. In Naples, for example, we used the Bourbon filigree, in Venice we turned to the same workshop that produces the golden tesserae for the mosaics of St Mark's. Our jewellery tells a story, about a territory and its people'.

Among the bas-reliefs and carvings on Istrian stone and elements that recall the city's architecture, also standing out in the Roman collection are pendant-sculptures made of marble dust, which poignantly interpret antiquity, like works by Igor Mitoraj, but are the result of avant-garde technical research: 'We have a motto: "Nothing is impossible". You just have to figure out how to do it. When we received from the gentlemen stylists, who follow every step with the utmost care, the indication to make these little statues to wear, we started to do tests and experiments. We managed to obtain a paste of Carrara marble powder, widely used in ancient statuary, held together by a special resin, with which we made strong and very light sculptures'.

The Legnano workshop even created the 'Dolce&Gabbana' gem cut, which plays with the number 13, a lucky number for the maison ('One day Mr Gabbana brought us a drop from a chandelier, telling us that he would like a gem cut in a similar way'). And to keep up with the division's growth, the offices have already been enlarged three times in the course of their history: today they house 65 people, including technical and administrative staff, and a gemmologist, with whom Veneruz travels the world in search of stones capable of interpreting Dolce&Gabbana's passion for colour in an original way, alongside the more classic gems, such as kunzites, rubellites and morganites. With sometimes unprecedented and significant results for the entire industry: "When nobody was using them yet, we bought many Paraiba tourmalines, which are now among the most sought-after and rare gems," he explains. "We have just bought some cobalt blue spinels that we will use in the next collection. They are very rare, even rarer than Paraiba, and I am sure they will be more and more sought after in the near future'.