Sustainable Elegance

Jeweler Renato Cipullo’s gold is 100 percent recycled. His pieces are 100 percent unique.

Sitting in his showroom with a stunning Fifth Avenue backdrop, it’s clear Renato Cipullo has impeccable taste. Though he is dressed casually in black, his accessories are flawless— leather Tod’s, an antique watch, and a trio of simple gold wristbands. One of the bracelets, a fitted bangle with a hardware motif, is of his own design; the other two were created by his brother Aldo Cipullo, who fashioned Cartier’s Love Bracelet, which sold more than any other piece of jewelry in the past 50 years.

Growing up in Rome, the Cipullo siblings (Renato, Aldo, their two brothers and sister) all worked for their father, a jewelry distributor and manufacturer. When Aldo moved to the US in the early ’60s, Renato joined him as soon as possible. Renato worked for David Webb for six months, then moved to Ischia to avoid the Vietnam draft. While there, he opened a boutique selling avant-garde items such as metal dresses. “In Ischia,” he remembers, “I was invited on boats every day, and had customers like Marisa Berenson, who was there as a guest on Charles Revson’s yacht.”

He finally returned to New York in 1971 at Aldo’s request. Renato’s impression of the city in the ’70s, along with his years living by the water, inspired his own collection of jewelry that he launched in 1974. The intricately detailed and handcrafted array that surrounds him in his showroom includes a gold ring made from Sicilian salt; a pair of unique gold earrings—one has a seashell and white pearl drop, and the other a gold seahorse and purple-hued South Sea pearl. A nautical-themed necklace has a tiny crab with ruby eyes, and a turtle with a coral shell. “I like to do pieces that are different from other designers; I make smaller versions and more dramatic ones,” he explains.

Many of the ornamental accents used in his designs, from shells and coral on the beaches of Positano and Ischia, to lava in Stromboli, Sicily, were gathered by Cipullo himself. All his pieces are ethically sourced and made with environmental consciousness—even his gold is 100 percent recycled. While he used to sell only custom pieces to private clients, Cipullo expanded into retail early this year, with pieces ranging from a simple polished gold ring with a single amethyst ($700), to an architecturally complex platinum and pearl ring studded with pave diamonds ($21,000). His daughter Serena, a designer in her own right, has joined the business.

“Serena has input now,” he says. “When she was 12 she painted her first portrait and started making sculpture. I’ve taught her secrets of the business, from aesthetics to mechanics. I decided to go into retail to continue the family legacy.”

A favorite design, among the first Cipullo created in 1974, is a stunning solid gold arrow that hangs on a chain. “It is 18 karat, of course,” he smiles. “The English may do 14 karat or even 9 karat, but I’m Italian. I don’t even know what 14 karat is.” renatocipullodesigns.com