Francesca Amfitheatrof's golden summer
It has been only a matter of weeks since Francesca Amfitheatrof parted ways with Louis Vuitton by mutual agreement, after seven years as artistic director of jewellery and watches. But when we speak over Zoom she could not appear to be more relaxed. Perhaps it's where she is based — Il Pellicano in Tuscany for a celebration of the hotel's 60th anniversary. She's joined on the call by the CEO and creative director of the Pellicano Hotel Group, Marie-Louise Sciò, to discuss their jewellery collaboration marking 'the Pelli's' six decades. 'I'm very happy,' says Amfitheatrof, 'it's perfect timing in life.'
The women were both brought up in Rome (Amfitheatrof is half Italian) and their mothers, they discovered recently, are also friends. Amfitheatrof is a loyal guest of Il Pellicano hotels; Sciò is effusive in her praise of the jeweller. 'I love what she does, it's fantastic to have something designed by her.'
The idea to collaborate started over a swim on Ischia last July. 'It just happened really naturally,' she says. Their completed creation is a medallion pendant crafted in silver or gold; a gnarly, textured take on the ancient Roman mask Bocca della Verità, or Mouth of Truth, which can be found outside the Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome.
Once the design was agreed, Amfitheatrof took the idea to one of the factories she knows from her time at Louis Vuitton and Tiffany. 'I know all the factories and makers in Italy. I walked into one and it was all HardWear, the collection I did for Tiffany — the whole factory! I have very good relationships with them so they agreed to make it and we made a wax model.' From this the medallion was cast.
Sciò describes the pendant as having 'a timeless quality and also a 1970s and 1980s vibe' — something that reminds her of her childhood and summers spent at Il Pellicano. Her father, Roberto Sciò, bought the property in 1979. 'I used to hide behind the bushes because I wasn't supposed to be downstairs — it wasn't kid friendly. All the women guests wore jewellery to go the beach. They had medallions and rings and earrings; they were covered in gold.'
Amfitheatrof was inspired by the past when creating it: 'I had this fabulous aunt, she was Californian and she arrived in Rome and always had medallions that would jingle-jangle. I immediately thought of her when we were discussing it. The surface of the gold is unpolished — it needs that patina so it feels like it's been in your jewellery box and on your body for a long time. Nothing is highly polished, nothing is super shiny.'
'Like the Pelli,' Sciò interjects, 'it doesn't scream and yell.' Amfitheatrof: 'Exactly. The hotel exudes an elegance that isn't obvious; there's this incredible ease — you know, when things are settled? It breathes that.'
Amfitheatrof hopes to see men and women wearing the medallion 'super glamorous, down by the pool, martini in your hand'. It's certainly an enticing image.
Launching on June 26, €1,700 in 925 silver, €5,000 in 18ct gold; issimoissimo.com
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