Verdi Gioielli plays with fantasy
Family-owned jewellery company Verdi Gioielli has its genesis in the heart of Valenza, the capital of “creative Italian jewellery boutiques,” in Italy. Opened in 1971 by Giuseppe Verdi, the jewellery brand has stood the tests of time and skilfully blends style, emotion, elegance and refinement to create astounding fine jewellery collections. Without ever being repetitive and always emphasising innovation in the development of gemstone research, as well as cutting and setting technologies through a mixture of new technologies and talented artisan excellence, Verdi is a byword for the creation of numerous collections that combine sophisticated style with fine craftsmanship. Verdi is now led by Marco Verdi, son of the founder and now the Chief Executive Officer of the brand, who continues to innovate while upholding the brand legacy. “Day & Night” magazine spoke to Marco Verdi on his creations, and how the marque stays relevant to the modern woman…
Can you share with us your latest collection and the inspiration for it?
We are not usually inspired by something in particular, but we always try to translate and transform the current trends with our own “language” and “touch”, without forgetting to create something that is fresh, modern and feminine at the same time. Right now, we are working on our new collection for 2019, and I can tell you that it will be divided into two main sections: one will continue the coral and turquoise trend, which is part of our brand identity and is still much appreciated. The other will be more classic and diamond-based, but will definitely have a VERDI twist.
Your Personality collection uses a lot of turquoise and coral with diamonds and sapphires; do your customers like such a mixed unusual combination of materials?
Yes, not only do they just like it, I would say they love this combination. From the time we started using these materials, back in 2015, this collection has been our absolute bestseller, and it I don’t think it is about to stop anytime soon.
Who creates or designs your collections, do you do it personally or is there a team?
We have a team of two designers working full-time for us – a woman and a man, who co-operate on creating our collections. They follow their inspiration but also incorporate suggestions from our clients. They also receive feedback from our sales team, who report first-hand impressions directly “from the battlefield” to them.
In your creation process, which comes first – the gemstone or the design?
Both play their part; sometimes we start from a gemstone, for example a beautiful tanzanite, and we literally create the jewel around it. Other times we choose a design that we like and then we look for the proper gemstones that would fit that particular design.
What kind of women are your ideal customers?
Our jewels are designed and made for the modern, financially independent woman who still loves the feelings and emotions evoked when she sees a beautiful piece of jewellery. She is also a person who can appreciate the high quality of the craftsmanship and manufacturing imbued in each piece.
What makes Verdi unique?
We like to give free rein to our imaginations and creativity, and play with fantasy and fancy colours. Many jewellery brands still go for the more classic designs and they mostly use diamonds, whereas we are dare to play with unusual combinations.
How many points of sales do you have worldwide now? Do you have any plans to expand?
Since our jewellery is very exclusive, we usually opt for quality rather than quantity. So, in the cities where we are present, we don’t have more than one, or maximum two partners. Sometimes we have just one per country. Of course, the world is big, and there is always the possibility to expand or to reach places that are relatively new to the jewellery market.
Do you see any style preferences in jewellery in the different markets? And do you have region-specific products?
Our collection is the same all over the world, but of course different markets have different tastes. For instance, Europe is more conservative, while clients in the Middle East love our coral and turquoise collections, our long necklaces and our jewellery sets, while our clients in the US usually prefer bigger and showier pieces.
Your flexible Bracelets have become iconic; do you have any new additions to the collection?
Since the ’70s we have been famous for our spring bangle bracelets: in all these years we have created more than a thousand different models, using all kinds of possible materials. In every new collection we bring out, the highlights are always our signature bangles, and we continuously add new models to the collection, sometimes even 3-4 times per year.
Some of your collections, such as Womanhood, use finely carved gemstones; is it very difficult crafting them?
Yes, it’s not very easy; mostly because these kinds of stones are pretty unique, and so with each gemstone, we need to adapt the jewel to the gem. In addition to that, when it comes to emeralds, the material is very fragile and we need to be very careful, while working with it.
