PROFILE
Italy’s Crown Jewels
By Isaiah Negron
18k yellow gold rubelite & pink sapphire ring, retail $15,000 Multi-color sapphire & diamond 18k white gold earrings, retail $30,000
laying with platinum and diamonds are all in a day’s work for jewelry designer Michel Piranesi. As a teenager in Milano, Italy, he learned about jewelry design and production from his father. “It started with my great grandparents,” Piranesi says. “They were well known silversmiths in Italy. They used to get regular commissions from the royals.” Piranesi continues to create extraordinary pieces with his Valenza-based jewelry company, Sintessi. His private clients include Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, Kimberly Rockefeller, Anne Hearst and her sister Patricia Hearst Shaw. Michel and his company are constantly giving back to the communities he works in. In October, he gave a ruby ring to the Alzheimer’s Foundation Rita Hayworth Gala and in November he gave diamond earrings to the French Heritage Society as well as a ruby and diamond poodle pin to The Southampton Animal Shelter. When in Palm Beach last winter, he worked with Ambassador Mary Ourisman and gave a percentage of all his sales to the Red Cross. At 17, Michel’s father sent him and his two brothers to handle the family’s business in the States. “When I got here, I fell in love with
t Resident December 2013
America,” remembers Piranesi. “It was like walking into heaven. I knew this was where I wanted to be.” While all of his jewelry is handcrafted in Valenza, Piranesi travels between Italy and the United States to ensure production on both ends are up to his strict standards, “I have great teams in both Italy and in America. Our amazing pool of artisans can create anything I design or imagine,” said Michel.
Using art and people as his inspiration, Michel has designed thousands of pieces of jewelry from the simple and timeless to the lavish and astonishing. “The inspiration can come from a painting or a photograph,” Piranesi explains. “I remember one image of Jackie Onassis that was so striking, I literally felt it opening up my mind. And that’s when the design comes out.” Sintessi’s sparkling pieces are painstakingly made by hand, ensuring
every stone is perfectly set. “We live in a time where everything is fast and readily available,” says Piranesi. “I make sure the extra time is taken in making my jewelry perfect. The effort is noticeable and worthwhile! You can always see the difference between a machine and an artisan’s hand.” Piranesi uses only the best highest quality metals, platinum and 18 carat gold, in pink or black and titanium. He specializes in using gemstones with rich pastel colors, which he says, “add vibrancy and life” to his dazzling creations. Sintessi’s flagship salon, located in the Calvin Klein building at 654 Madison Avenue, is just the beginning of Piranesi’s vision for his company. “There’s a niche for jewelry everywhere in the world,” he says. “I want Sintessi to fill that niche.” Although he plans to adorn Hollywood’s brightest stars in his shimmering designs during the upcoming awards season, Michel says, “Every women deserves to feel beautiful and it makes me happy to help them feel that.” For private viewings call (212)-796-5005. • sintessi.com