“Many of you already know us personally, others have only known us online, but it is to all of you that we dedicate this page.”
I am Tommaso Pestelli and with my wife Eva Aulmann I continue the family goldsmith tradition, based in the historic center of Florence since 1908.
I am Florentine by birth and have always lived my city very intensely. Since I was a child, my father took me to visit the great Medici collections and the historic Florentine palaces in his free time, but when he was at work I spent most of my time in the back room, playing with the multitude of models, jewels and prototypes with neo-Renaissance and extravagant shapes, inspired by the treasures of my city. Values that have certainly had a weight in forming my artistic sensibility.
As in the best Florentine artisan tradition, I began to learn the rudiments of the trade from one of the best goldsmith masters, Tonino Batacchi. At the same time I was pursuing my studies, first in sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts, where I met Eva – today an established artist in the world of graphic art (www.bellearti.de) – and then at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure for the restoration of goldsmithery and ancient glyptics, with which I obtained the OPD Certification recognized by the Ministry of Culture.
The world of restoration has allowed me to deal with true goldsmith masterpieces – the highest and most exclusive expression of the art and craftsmanship of the past – and to learn technical experiences and stylistic refinements lost for centuries. In each work I have always found the manual ability of the goldsmith to juggle the most diverse materials and forms, such as copper, bronze, semi-precious stones, precious stones, wood and glass, even in large objects united with harmony and refinement. Quality that I strongly wanted to make my own using them in my original creations.
Totally handmade creations that you can find in our online shop or discover live in our atelier in Via del Sole 22/r in Florence where there is also an open laboratory where you can see us every day while we create our works.
Many of you often ask us: “How do you make your creations?”
The first step is always to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a new project and a natural material. The choice of stones is always aimed at the search for the element of natural quality, not excessively perfect, because perfection does not exist, or the perfect element often has nothing to say or evoke and remains cold.
The carved stone, as well as a natural element such as shells or coconuts, always present unique characteristics of nature and shape, which must be followed, respected and not distorted. The natural vibration of matter arouses emotions in the viewer.
This assessment is a starting point and a comparison with my wife Eva. She is certainly the other side of the scale, without her nothing would be as it is. Eva is my most sincere critic and my most valid collaborator and inspirer. New models and ideas always come from her.
I consider an object uccessful when I manage to balance the natural element, that is the beautiful shape of a stone, the beautiful color, the beautiful transparencies with the artifice element I have shaped, neither of them must prevail over the other: the most beautiful things are always in balance.
Designing and creating art objects from nothing, with your own hands, using a lot of time and energy, in a world that runs faster and faster, may seem an anachronistic choice to many, but our belief is precisely this: to realize the “Beautiful” in every single creation and satisfy our customers in their most personal and imaginative desires.
All this has led us to receive important recognitions over the years. The Pestelli jewelery shop is now certified as an Italian Historic Company and in 2018 it received the DNA Artisan award for its 110 years of activity.
Some of our creations are today exhibited in the permanent goldsmith collection of the historic Silver Museum of Palazzo Pitti in Florence. In 2019 we won the prestigious Talents du Luxe et de la Création Award in Paris for the Elegance category and in 2020 we received the MAM (Master of Art and Craft) Award and were included in the special Golden Book of Italian Artisan Excellence.
Come and visit us in Via del Sole 22/r in Florence or write to us and visit our Facebook and Instagram channels where every day we read all your messages and comments with pleasure 🙂
See you soon,
Tommaso and Eva
Insights
Read the history of the Pestelli Creazioni jewelry store and look at our archive of historical designs or visit the site with Eva’s works.
And finally don’t forget to take a look at our creations in our online shop.
