Adam's Fine Jewellery & Watches 14th May 2024

81 Emanuela, could you share with us your own per- sonal “rose story”? A dear friend gifted me a rose named ‘Sally Holmes,’ which I planted in front of my mountain house.The delicate pinkish-white hue and the flourishing blossoms bring me pure joy. Another very Italian tradition is the miracle associated with Santa Rita da Cascia in the Umbria region, involving a rose. Every year, on May 22nd, Santa Rita’s day, my aunt Caterina presents me with a pouch of dried petals reminiscent of the gesture of Saint Rita to protect me.This tradition is performed by many devout individuals. How does the natural world inspire your design process, and is there a time when you drew inspira- tion from nature for a design project? Many, many times, the natural world has inspired me. I grew up sur- rounded by nature where beauty is everywhere.You can only be in- spired by shape and colours of it. Every single detail is enchanting and fantastic. One of the pieces that represents my vision is “Blooming,” a 12 cm long brooch. It’s very light and can be worn as both a pendant and a choker. It resembles a branch of flowers. Additionally, the rose “Our Lady of Guadalupe,” recently completed in collaboration with Dan- ielle, is derived from a selection of roses. Our lady of Guadalupe rose was precisely the one I desired to transform into a jewel. It stands out for its irregularity, richness in movement and shapes, yet maintains delicacy and beauty. Colour is huge in the flower world; how does colour influence your designs? Colour completely influences my designs, rarely Margherita Burgener jewels are gold and diamonds. Colours bring joy, energy, nourish- ing our soul and mind. Colours in jewellery create unicity. Coloured stones are rarer and, most of the time, more valuable.We play with them creating a combination of colours with titanium that can be oxidate in several tones, sometimes changing colours bringing unex- pected reflections also on the stones. It is pure poetry. Typically, how long does it take from concept to a finished design? Impossible to say. It can be one month, or it can be a year, it really depends on what it is and how the family team reacts to the project.As a designer I can conceive a concept, but I need skilled hands to make it real and uncountable steps to make it in a jewel. Can you talk about your next project and the inspi- ration behind it? It is a necklace full of big titanium flowers, each one in a different shape and colours, a statement piece for summer, as well as a couple of titanium cuffs we made two years ago and never chose the stones to set in. Now is time to finalise the setting and present them. To finish, what is your favourite piece of jewellery and why? The rose “Our Lady of Guadalupe”, the piece I just finished. Behind it were the thoughts of three women. Despite the vast distance from Italy to the USA, it became a very close project based on a common love of flowers and roses.