The pair from the front on a light stone: the two silver corollas with a sandblasted ground, with the blue-violet iolite at the centre of each

Collection Fiore d'Inverno·Orecchini

Fiore d'Inverno silver earrings with iolite, 13 mm sandblasted corollas

Name: Fiore d'Inverno silver earrings with iolite, 13 mm sandblasted corollas
Brand: Anna Gioielli
SKU: OA133
Price: 120.0 EUR
Availability: InStock

Thirteen millimeters of corolla per lobe, the ground sandblasted and the rim polished around the iolite

€120,00 OA133

Drawn and built by hand at the bench, in Tosi.

Two silver corollas of thirteen millimeters, each hollowed from a single sheet and left wavy at the rim. Inside the cup the silver is sandblasted: a matt, grainy surface, where the folds of the sheet run from the center outwards and hold the shadow. The rim, on the other hand, is polished, and closes the flower with a line of light running all round. At the center, in a round setting, a faceted iolite of a blue-violet that changes density according to how the head is turned. Behind, the back is mirror-polished, the bottom of the setting stays open, and the post comes out from there.

Four grams sixty of 925 silver for the pair, and thirteen millimeters of corolla per lobe: it is the small size of the flower, the one that stays resting against the ear instead of swinging. Sandblasted and polished on the same piece are two finishes that exclude one another, and they have to be kept apart by hand: the sand is drawn where it is wanted and stopped where it is not, because polish once lost only comes back by re-polishing, and re-polishing the rim means bringing the cloth to within a millimeter of the matt. The color is dictated by the stone: iolite looked at along one axis is full blue, along another almost colorless, and whoever cut it decided once and for all which of the two is seen. Presentation box included.

The material

Weights and carats as the workshop declares them.

4,60 gramsSilver 925‰

Metals: Silver 925‰
Finish: Cup sandblasted inside, polished outline and back
Dimensions: Flower diameter about 13 mm
Clasp: Post with butterfly back
Technique: All made by hand.

The stones

Iolite

At the center of each corolla

Cut: Round faceted
Size: Flower about 13 mm
Color: Blue-violet
Note: Two natural stones. Carat weight not stated

The two corollas tilted on the light stone: the hollow of the cup and the wavy rim left polished can be read

One earring from the front and the other turned back to front: the post and the butterfly back behind the corolla can be seen

The back of the two flowers, polished to a mirror, with the silver hallmarks, the open bottom of the bezel and the butterfly backs fitted

The pair resting against a branch of light wood, shot from a distance, with the two corollas side by side at the same height

The two flowers staggered on the branch, seen from above: the contrast between the matt ground and the polished line of the rim

The two corollas overlapping in the foreground on the wood: the blue of the iolite against the sandblasted silver

The pair in three-quarter view on the branch: the round faceted iolite in the bezel at the centre of the cup

How it is made

The words of the trade, one by one, explained to those who do not know them.

Corolla from a single sheet: The corolla is not an assembly of petals: it is a single sheet, hollowed into a shallow cup and left irregular at the rim, with the folds starting at the center and going outwards. The wavy rim is not corrected twice — stretched silver does not come back — so the first fold is the one that stays. In the middle of the cup is the only point that has to stay flat: it is the seat of the stone, and if the cup has moved there the setting does not sit.
Sandblasting: A jet of very fine sand mattens the metal and makes it velvety to the touch. Here it is used on the inside, in contrast with the outline left polished.
Iolite: Iolite changes color according to the direction it is looked at from: along one axis it is a full blue-violet, along another it is almost colorless. The color of each bead is therefore decided by the cutter, at the moment of choosing how to orient it, and on a strand half a meter long that choice is repeated bead after bead. It is the reason why in a strand of iolite the beads are never all the same blue.
Post and butterfly fitting: The post goes through the lobe and behind it a butterfly back holds it, two metal wings that grip the post by themselves. It is the simplest fitting there is, and precisely for that reason it has to be done well: the post must be soldered perpendicular to the body of the earring, because if it starts even slightly crooked the piece hangs askew on the lobe and there is no way of straightening it by wearing it. The butterfly back, on the other hand, is the part that gets lost: it holds by friction, and friction drops over the years until one day it no longer holds. You check it by squeezing it lightly between two fingers, and when it has stopped resisting you change it — it costs little, and it costs a great deal less than the earring.

I don't look at what others are doing: I would rather create in my own style. That is what makes our jewelry recognizable.
Fabio Gori — Anna Gioielli, Tosi

Made for you

Every piece leaves the bench made to order: sizes and details are agreed before the work begins.

The goldsmith's workshop is also the place where made-to-measure jewellery is created and family pieces are restored: if you have an idea, or something you want brought back to how it was, that is where it starts.

Ask for a made-to-measure piece

Made by

Anna Gioielli

A goldsmith's workshop in Tosi, on the slopes of the Pratomagno: Anna opened it in 1988, her sons Fabio and Francesco carry it on. Piercing, repoussé, chasing and burin engraving — the Florentine school, with the workshop in full view of the shop.

All the creations by Anna Gioielli