AMEDEO

Carving a new niche 

A short while ago I wrote a piece on the incredible sardonyx and carnelian bow bracelets from Amedeo. I’ve since been back to the Knightsbridge store to talk more about the collection. Mr Amedeo Scognamiglio has carved a niche in jewellery design, fusing ancient craftsmanship with a 21^st century aesthetic. “I wanted to create something my friends would wear,” he said in a recent interview, “not just a lady’s profile. Popular ones for my newer clients have shown monkeys, an elephant, and skulls, particularly a black one with a crown. Those designs caught people’s attention.”

For many years cameos have been considered de drop, but Amedeo has bought a level sexiness to them, making these whimsical, contemporary designs desirable to a whole new generation of jewellery buyers.

Despite this modern approach, Ms Francesca Pezzarossa, Brand Ambassador, tells me the techniques and tools used to produce their cameos have changed little since the renaissance. Made entirely by hand, layers of stone or sardonyx shell are whittled away to depict an image in bas relief.  Often studded with diamonds or sapphires and set in shanks of lapis or tigers eye, these incredible cameos are uniquely induvial pieces.  

Indeed Mr Callum Maguire, Sales Manager, has been telling me all about their customisable range of cameos. Existing pieces and designs can be tailored to your particular stylistic preferences. So if you have a particular image in mind, or you just want to change champagne for black diamonds, Amedeo can cater to your every desire.

With such an incredible range, I asked the staff at Faraone Mennella if they had a favourite piece. Ms Pezzarossa, having grown up with Mr Scognamiglio, has a particular affinity to the brand. “I love the snake ring,” Ms Pezzarossa tells me, “the contrast between black onyx and turquoise. To Native American’s turquoise symbolises life and has healing properties, and the snake as an animal is connected to the life force of energy.” On the other hand, Mr Charlie Day, head of wholesale, favours the “Monkeydeo” ring, from the “hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil” collection, “I remember my parent’s saying this to me as a child, and the phrase stuck. It’s a great symbolic piece, and tells the story of our brand.”

I would encourage anyone interested in Amedeo to visit Faraone Mennella in Knightsbridge. I can assure you there’s not a question you might have that they won’t be willing and able to answer. 

From top: leather skull bracelet £1480; chain bracelet £2090; turquoise skull ring £1920; white skull ring with diamonds £7000; three monkey's cameo £1815.