Which kind of materials do you use?
In addition to the typical precious materials, I use non-precious matters and objects, combining them all together. I love old, recycled materials: they had a previous life, they have a story. I give them a second chance, in a sort of alchemic transformation.
What are your sources of inspiration?
I am fascinated by how time works in things and people. I’m inspired by the traces left by ancient civilizations, unknown individual lives, personal objects whose stories have never been told. I am attracted by the lost contest, by the silence of objects.
©Federico Cavicchioli
Did you also learn from a master?
I’ve been very lucky: I could learn from great masters like Giampaolo Babetto and Manfred Bischoff. As director of Alchimia, I meet many talented jewellery designers and makers. But it was from my father that I learned to be an idealist and rise to challenges.
What does contemporary jewellery mean to you?
It means that jewellery is fully an art, which conveys visions and concepts. Jewels are not just precious ornaments. There are important collectors, connoisseurs and dealers all over the world, but in Italy we have to do much more to affirm this approach.