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It’s dusk on the southern coast of Sardinia and around 400 people have gathered for dinner on the terrace. Every now and then the candlelight catches a bright spark thrown from jewels as guests table-hop to greet each other. Christina Aguilera is about to perform and in front of us the sea is glowing with lights twinkling on a clutch of mega yachts anchored off shore.
This is a party to launch Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda. The group of well heeled, couture clad guests have arrived a day early to view the Alta Gioielleria, an increasingly important part of the four-day extravaganza. July is a big month for new high jewelry collections across Europe—luxury houses have hosted client-facing events in Florence, Vienna, and Monaco, for starters—so these customers don’t lack invites to glamorous launches. What is it about Dolce & Gabbana jewels that entices them?
“At first it was the clothes that drew me in,” one American guest tells me the next morning, dressed in a green crochet caftan for the beach teamed with a magnificent pair of golden micro mosaic earrings. “Then I fell in love with the one-of-a-kind jewels because they are so different from any other jewelry. It’s the hand craft element. Maybe it’s their Italian-ness that I love.”
For these seasoned jewelry buyers, diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires can be commonplace; they require more. And within Alta Gioielleria lies the culture, folklore, and artistic traditions of particular regions of Italy told through finely crafted gold and gemstones.
“I have to say, I recognize Italy in these pieces,” says Naomi Campbell who’s flown in to join the show. “From hints of baroque architecture and renaissance paintings to the vibrant sun-drenched colors of the Mediterranean. When I wear one of their creations, I feel like I’m carrying a piece of Italy with me.”