Verdura Brings Legendary Jewelry Online

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Feb 20th 2011 at 11:01AM

Duke Fulco di Verdura (1898–1978) a Sicilian Duke, began his career with the one and only Coco Chanel. She hired him as a textile designer and he went on to become the head designer for her private and boutique jewelry collection. This collaboration led to the establishment of Verdura as one of the most glamorous and exciting jewelry brands of the early 20th century, dazzling European royals and Hollywood stars alike.

Today, his legacy continues into the new era as the Verdura brand launches a new website that looks both toward the future and back toward the past. The website tells the story of the brand's origin in magazine-style pieces rich with images from Fulco's past that make a vintage-loving heart ache for the glamour that was the 1920s in Paris.

Verdura's salon high above Fifth Avenue in New York City has long been a quiet haven for jewelry connoisseurs. The new website seeks to expand that old-world shopping experience into the internet with lush photography. Old favorites, like Verdura's jeweled Maltese Cross designs will certainly attract new fans. The Maltese Cross cuff, shown here in peridot, blue topaz, diamond, enamel, and 18k yellow gold retails for $33,500.

Verdura is brilliantly interpreted online by website developer dotbox. Zo Björgvinsson, dotbox's Creative Director, comments: "In the new website, we strove to recreate that rarified experience by marrying the brand's allure with innovative design."
yellow sapphire brooch

The site also showcases special opportunities like this vintage, one-of-a-kind wrapped heart brooch which is available for purchase online until the end of February. The piece is done in brilliant yellow sapphires, with 16 brilliant-cut diamonds and 18kt yellow gold twisted rope ribbon. This particular brooch dates back to 1955 but the design dates back to 1941 when Verdura created it for actor Tyrone Power, who wanted to "give his heart" to his wife on Valentine's Day. This brooch is listed at $87,500.
verdura lily of the valley brooch

Designs inspired by the beauty of nature are a big part of the Verdura legacy. When selected pieces went on display at the Houston Museum of Natural Science in 2007 one of the pieces on display was a lily of the valley piece which, like the one above, used a delicate combination of diamonds and pearl to evoke the delicacy of the tiny bell-like flowers. This graceful piece has the pearls set en tremblant for realistic movement. The brooch in pearls, diamond, green enamel and 18k yellow gold sells for $28,500.

Tags: finepix, jewelry, jewelry designers, verdura