|
|
" Jewels by Giuliano – Precise enameling and careful attention to detail mark truly original designs " - Professional Jeweler Magazine, From The Vault, January 2001, Page 128 In the mid-19th century, the archeological revival was at its peak in England and demand for jewelry in the ancient style was high. At this opportune time, Carlo Giuliano moved with his wife and sons from Italy to England, where he began to make granulated gold jewelry in ancient Greek and Roman style and sell it through established jewelers such as Hancocks, Hunt and Roskell, and Phillips. There are no records to support the theory, but it’s widely believed Giuliano studied under the renowned Castellanis in Italy and moved to London at Alessandro Castellani’s request to open a workshop for him. Giuliano’s early work is close in style to the Castellanis', and Giuliano signed his work the same way – interlocked initials “C.G.” in place of the interlocking double “Cs” of the Castellanis. Whatever the initial arrangement, Giuliano’s workshop was solely in his name from 1860-1877. By 1874, he also opened a retail shop with his son under the name Carlo and Arthur Giuliano. The company blossomed and developed its own style. Some of the success must be attributed to the head designer, Pascuale Novissimo, whose exceptional designs Giuliano skillfully transformed into exquisite jewels that caught everyone’s attention. |
|
Renaissance Revisited By the 1870’s, archeological-style jewelry had lost much of its appeal, and the Renaissance style was capturing attention. Rather than replicate Renaissance jewelry, Giuliano sensitively interpreted it to suit late 19-th century taste. In a style derived from 17th century French enamel work, Giuliano meticulously applied opaque enamel in contrasting patterns of tiny dots, small scrolls and whisker-like lines in black on white, white on black and sometimes both alternately in the same piece. The most popular jewels in his Renaissance repertoire were lozenge-shaped pendants, cruciform pendants, brooches, hinged bangles bracelets and multi-strand necklaces of pearls or gold links, all embellished with delicate enameling. Although precious stones were never in focus, Giuliano enriched his jewelry with a modest combination of gems that enhance the design and maintain the Renaissance character. He particularly favored diamonds and pearls because they ideally suit the black and white theme. Other more colorful pieces feature faceted and cabochon ruby, sapphire, emerald, beryl, garnet, zircon, chrysoberyl, moonstone, amethyst and topaz.
Wide Appeal Between 1874 and 1890, the company flourished. Its understated yet superb pieces appealed to everyone from royalty, including Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales, to member of the Aesthetic movement such as artist Edward Burne-Jones. In the 1890’s, interest in historicism waned and the company faltered a bit. To rectify this, Giuliano created a popular “candy-twist” enameled baton link, variations of which carried the company into the 20th century. Today, collectors and connoisseurs alike seek Giuliano jewelry. The delicate beauty of each enameled treasure is as fresh today as it was 100 years ago. Although some imitations were attempted, none matched Giuliano’s precise enameling and attention to detail. Today, when virtually everything has a dozen knock-offs, it’s comforting to know Giuliano jewelry is unique.
Picture descriptions Two pendants in the Renaissance Revival style show the delicate enamel details typical of jewelry made by Carlo and Arthur Giuliano in the 1870’s. The top pendant is set with amethysts, pearls and a moonstone and has black-on-white enameled details. The other pendant has white-on-blue enameling around a large zircon center with an emerald and diamond suspended beneath. Courtesy of Joden World Resources, Grove City, PA (800) 747-7552. |
|
Joden World Resources, 144 South Broad Street, Grove City, PA 16127 800-747-7552 Email us
