Description
Not all jewelry is made to be worn: SALT & PEPPER are the perfect example of just that. They are not simple kitchen tools or table accessories, they are extraordinary rock crystal objects. Created with natural stone imported from Madagascar, each has its own mottling and transparencies that make it unique, irreplicable, a once-off.
Designed by Giberto Arrivabene and realized in collaboration with artisans who specialize in working with precious metals, the vermeil stoppers are shaped, chiseled and then topped with a small ruby root or amethyst cabochon stone, in contrast with the screw cap’s bright gold.
Assembling the African stones, creating the glass ampoule to contain salt and pepper, and mounting the upper components of the shakers are the result of the skilled local artisans’ many hours of work. These characteristics give SALE e PEPE, Giberto’s interpretation of table jewelry, that unique touch of elegance and sophistication that are the Venetian designer’s fil rouge throughout the collection
The Designer
The life of Giberto Arrivabene Valenti Gonzaga is viscerally linked to Venice. His childhood memories, the most beautiful, are those that have taken place in the rooms of Palazzo Papadopoli, between frescoes of Tiepolo and family affection. “In my earliest memories Venice had other colours. It was more obscure, dramatic, decayed and deeply romantic – simply beautiful. There wasn’t the same light like there is today – more dazzling perhaps, but less poetic.”
Craftmanship
Each piece derives from a watercolour sketch made by Giberto on tracing paper: “When I see something that inspires me, or an object that I like, I sketch and rework it – then move on to the realization of it.”
The glass, the main material in the collections, is worked exclusively in Murano. Each glass, each specific object, is blown by master glassmakers in the Venetian furnaces.
Giberto takes his watercolours to discuss with them and refine the project, check its feasibility, and to make eventual changes.