The Women Redefining Italian Shine
Across Vicenza and Florence, many ateliers are now led by women, giving new form to Italy’s goldsmithing heritage. These are women who respect the past but refuse its limits: gold now bends, reverses, and moves.
Luxury that Lives with You
Their creations are not declarations of status but reflections of inner authenticity and belonging. Wearable luxury, as they define it, isn’t about making jewelry casual. It’s about creating pieces that feel personal, whether worn every day or for extraordinary moments.
Rather than designing pieces to be worn only on red carpets, they create jewelry meant to be lived in—sculptural, expressive, and deeply personal. Two of the most compelling voices in this evolution are from Vicenza and Florence: Laura Bicego, co-founder and creative force behind Nanis, and Annamaria Cammilli and her daughter Raffaella Renai. Their works bridge tradition and freedom through artistry born of discipline and elegance, shaped for movement.
Laura Bicego: Transformative Art
In her Vicenza atelier, Laura Bicego of Nanis believes gold should never feel static. A second-generation goldsmith, Bicego grew up immersed in a long tradition of craftsmanship. She founded Nanis Italian Jewels with her husband, Piero Marangon, in 1990 to redefine the concept of jewelry and create pieces that are effortless, personal, and fun.
A Vision of Fluid Gold
A few years later, she patented Trasformista, a mechanism that turns a bracelet into a necklace with a simple gesture. More than a design, it became a manifesto: jewelry should adapt to the woman, not the other way around. “Gold is a living language,” says Bicego, an expression of movement, emotion, and freedom. “I have made it my life’s mission to create jewels that live and breathe with their owners, pieces they never want to take off.”
At the heart of this philosophy lies the Boule, Nanis’ signature element. Sinuous, round, and light, it embodies women’s ability to embrace change with grace and balance. The Boule defines Nanis’ most iconic collections, such as Ciliegine and Ivy, where unusual gold pearls are hand-engraved using a traditional tool—a savoir-faire passed down through generations of Italian artisans, giving a soft, luminous, silk-like texture that feels almost alive. It’s a tactile expression of true luxury.
The Florence-Born Sculptural Aesthetic
In the Muse collection, double-sided designs reveal two expressions: one in hand-engraved 18kt gold, the other in natural stones inspired by Italian cocktails of the 1960s—Dolcevita, Rosolio, Lattementa, Violetta, and Anice.
In the newer Reverse Baby line, natural stones are reimagined in smaller, lighter forms, with each piece designed to turn, adapt, and follow the wearer’s rhythm. “Women should not have to adapt to jewelry,” says Bicego. “Jewelry should adapt to women.” It’s a vision that is both poetic and rebellious, bridging artisanal craft with modern sensibilities to bring both movement and emotion to Italian jewelry design.
Cammilli Firenze: Generations in Gold
Annamaria Cammilli approaches gold the way an artist approaches light. Before founding her maison in 1983, she was a sculpture and painter. That heritage defines Cammilli Firenze: jewelry conceived as art, in form as well as finish, and shaped by the light and architecture of a city that continues to inspire its aesthetic. “Florence is our eternal muse,” says Annamaria. “Each Cammilli jewel, in its sculptural volumes and velvety surfaces, carries a fragment of Florence’s timeless light.”
At the heart of the brand’s style lies a tension between matte and shine. The proprietary Aetherna satin finish transforms gold into a velvety surface that absorbs light, while slender polished ridges return a sudden brilliance, animating each piece. The result is neither decorative nor minimal; it’s architectural, echoing the balance and geometry found in Florentine art.
Light, Shadow & the Cammilli Signature
The Dune collection captures this philosophy with wind-shaped curves and diamond accents that create rhythm rather than opulence. Colored stones—tourmaline, peridot, tanzanite—shift like twilight across a Tuscan horizon.
In a market crowded with revival campaigns and celebrity placements, Cammilli Firenze follows a quieter path. Its pieces are not designed to shout, but to endure, existing somewhere between jewel, art object, and architectural form. Indeed, in tune with what modern women want: jewelry that becomes part of the body’s choreography and the mind’s emotional narrative.
“We want women to feel seen,” says Raffaella. “Not for how they look, but for who they are. A Cammilli jewel is not just decoration; it’s a fundamental part of identity that allows women to express their individuality, inner strength, and elegance.”
A Shared Vision
In a world where visibility often defines success, these women build presence through permanence, letting the finished product speak for itself while spearheading a broader Italian movement toward wearable luxury that perfectly fuses beauty and lifestyle.
Designers like Laura Bicego, Annamaria Cammilli, and Raffaella Renai are making fine jewelry less about the occasion and more about the woman herself—her story, her light, her freedom. In their hands, one of Italy’s most enduring art forms takes on a distinctly modern expression.
