Castellani

Castellani, Founded 1815. One of the distinguishing characteristics of the 19th century was a reverence for the past. This was the age of the Grand Tour, when the popular imagination was sparked by visions of antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance as the refined upper classes returned home bursting with information and purchases from their trips abroad. In Italy, ancient gold Etruscan jewelry was turning up in excavations, and society women were captivated by its beauty. Roman jeweler and art dealer Fortunato Pio Castellani saw his opportunity and swiftly presented the public with an easy alternative to the ancient by developing a chemical method to reproduce the warm, deep yellow tones of the ancient gold. For three generations the Castellani family created what they called “Italian archaeological jewelry,” which was inspired by the precious Etruscan, Roman, Greek, and Byzantine antiquities being excavated at the time. The Castellani jewelry consisted of finely wrought gold that was often combined with delicate and colorful mosaics, carved gemstones, or enamel.