Collection: Italian Gold Bracelets

There is absolutely no difference in gold as a material used by jewelry makers the world over. Gold is gold, be it yellow or white, 14 karat, 18 karat or 24 karat, but there is a difference in the quantity and quality of the design and manufacture of pieces Made in Italy. Italy wears the crown for the largest production of high quality gold jewelry made today.

Gold is one of the noble metals found in nature and is known not only for its beauty and color, but also for its density, strength and resistance to discoloration or corrosion. These attributes have made gold an excellent material for jewelry made to last for generations.  Pure gold is actually quite soft, so it is often combined with other metals such as copper, silver, nickel and palladium to strengthen it. The amount of these alloys in gold determines its purity, be it 14K, 18K or 24K. 14K gold is hardest with the highest concentration of alloy and 24K is the softest and the purest with the least amount of added alloy.  Fine jewelry is typically made in 18K gold, yellow or white. Gold is naturally yellow in color but when alloyed with sufficient white metals such as nickel, palladium or silver and plated with rhodium, the gold becomes silvery white. 

Italian gold jewelry reflects a degree of hand craftsmanship famed the world over for its quality and design. Traditional Italian jewelry making techniques have been refined over centuries by skilled artisans using knowledge passed down from generation to generation. Specialized methods of custom fabrication, fine gem setting and the elevated use of colored stones coupled with originality in design have made jewelers such as Bulgari and Buccellati rightfully renowned and their pieces coveted for their exceptionally fine material and workmanship.

Authenticating pieces of jewelry requires more nuanced expertise. Many thousands of pieces of jewelry have passed through our hands for over 40 years from every era and every maker. This familiarity enables us to know what a piece should look and feel like and if it has the expected quality of material and workmanship, the accurate makers marks and the correct signature in all the right places. Indeed, one of the easiest ways non-experts can be fooled is to assume a designer piece of jewelry is truly by that maker as pieces by commercial manufacturers are often outright fakes or signed fraudulently by a third party. 

In practice, we first look at the front and back of a bracelet, ring or brooch, turning it over in our hands to see​ that the workmanship on ​the reverse is just ​as ​fine as the detail on the front. Using the jeweler’s important tool, the loupe, we look carefully at many different touchpoints including the precision with which the ​diamonds are mounted in their settings, the manner in which gold or platinum links are connected to each other, the quality of the azuring, a most difficult and refined aspect of metalwork, the fineness of the material and we look for ​flawless ​polish.

If we have any doubts whatsoever as to authenticity, we submit the piece to the firm itself, be it Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Verdura, David Webb and others. We also request the original bill of sale, box and papers for those items most commonly faked such as Cartier Love brackets and VCA Alhambra pieces. And just as banks know their customers, we, too, ensure we know enough about our clients to assure ourselves of their ownership and provenance. 

Our team of GIA-certified jewelry experts has such a well-regarded reputation in the international jewelry industry that we are frequently called upon to advise auction houses, appraisers and other dealers in matters of authenticity and value.