The ancient and timeless taste of the Florentine goldsmith tradition
Pestelli jewelery and goldsmith’s art was founded in 1908, when Edoardo Pestelli (1874-1965) took over a jewelery shop in Via Strozzi, in the historic center of Florence, after having trained professionally at the famous Marchesini jewelry.
Immediately Pestelli’s production was characterized by creativity and a certain elegant refinement that marries the tastes of the Florentine bourgeoisie of the time, specializing in the production of jewelry and silverware in antique style, with mosaic work , precious and hard stones, as well as corals and pearls.
Around 1920 Francesco also entered the shop, one of Edoardo’s sons, who soon became the general agent of the family business. He will follow Luigi, Francesco’s brother, and a second Luigi, son of Francesco, up to the current management of Tommaso Pestelli, great-grandson and representative of the 4th generation.
In 1920 the shop moved to Via Tornabuoni and in 1935 the Pestelli jewelry moved again to Via Strozzi, where it remained for several decades.
The production of these years was characterized by the collaboration with the most talented goldsmiths of the time, among which we remember Fernando Ilari, Tonino Batacchi (master of Tommaso Pestelli), Marcello Rovini, and the Tagliaferri, father and son. Experienced craftsmen with the aim of maintaining the character of high craftsmanship that has always been the pride of Florentine production.
The company Pestelli has in fact always preferred quality to quantity, the perfection of production compared to serial production. The style of objects made in over a century has always been that of original and timeless elegance.
This also explains the success that the production of goldsmiths Pestelli has collected over time. Among the historical customers of the Pestelli jewelry include Casa Savoia, the royals of Romania, the vice king of Egypt, the Vatican.
In 1989 the shop moved to Borgo SS. Apostoli 20/r, a few steps from the famous Ponte Vecchio, and passed under the guidance of Tommaso Pestelli, last in order to manage the company family’s, together with his wife Eva Aulmann, a well-known artist in the world of graphic art.
Tommaso Pestelli trained in the first years of activity – as in the best artisan tradition – with one of the active goldsmiths of the family firm. He then expands his skills at the Academy of Fine Arts, where he graduates in sculpture, and, subsequently, at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in the restoration of goldsmith and glyptic, which makes him a complete artist both in terms of aesthetics and competence and technical knowledge. And it is thanks to these skills acquired over the years, and to an always interested gaze towards the world around him, that unique works of fantasy, elegance and excellent technique are born.
Some of his creations are now on display at the prestigious Silver Museum in Florence, while others are on sale all over the world, from Paris to New York.
In 2011 Pestelli jewelry was certified Italian Historical Company and in 2018 it received the “DNA Artigiano” award for its 110 years of activity. In 2019 Pestelli won the prestigious international Talents du Luxe et de la Création award in Paris.
In 2020 Tommaso Pestelli received the “MAM – Master of Art and Craft” Award and was included in the special Golden Book of Italian Artisan Excellence. In the same year Pestelli was included in the prestigious Homo Faber Guide which brings together the best European craftsmen.
In 2022 the Pestelli Creazioni atelier expanded, inserting the visible laboratory inside the shop, and moved to Via del Sole 22/r in Florence, a few steps from the Santa Maria Novella station and the main monuments of the city.
“An object is successful when it manages to balance the natural element with the artifice element we have shaped: the most beautiful things are always in balance.” Tommaso Pestelli
“I grew up in the back room of the family shop among beautiful and refined objects, among drawings and samples of a jewelry that reflected the most refined and harmonious taste of the past. I could only fall in love with this world and follow in the footsteps of my ancestors, adding my own…”
Tommaso Pestelli
“Tommaso Pestelli continues to create unique objects, finished with the accuracy and skill of a sixteenth-century master chiseller, a little goldsmith and a little alchemist, in pursuit of dreams and beauty. A true talent. mysterious and humble as only true talents can be.”
Sara Piccolo Paci, Magazine “MCM – La Storia Delle Cose”, N.82
