Hooked On A FEELING

With one colour for every emotion, Pomellato Nudo rings lay bare the natural splendour of gemstones through its innovative 'nude' setting, where the real magic lies in that which you do not see.

- CELINE YAP

Travelling 30 minutes out of Milan city centre, my driver took me to an area known as Quartiere Stadera, the steelyard district of Metropolitan Milan. Stepping out into the crisp morning air, I couldn’t quite decipher where amid these endless rows of nondescript grey stone buildings might I find Casa Pomellato, global headquarters of the Milanese luxury jeweller. There were no big signboards or entrances in sight, nothing glitzy or flashy that denoted the presence of a great jewellery house—just a modest though immaculately styled cherry-red door reminiscent of Pomellato’s beautifully lacquered jewellery boxes. That had to be it, I ventured, and true enough it was, as my hosts warmly ushered me in.

As I walked through the threshold, however, nothing could prepare me for the sheer beauty and tranquillity that would begin to envelope me.

It was like a postcard-perfect Zen garden, with lush bamboo thickets stretching up towards the sky, tempered by calm clear water, and backed by dark wood and red-walled interior façades for a vivacious pop of colour. After my retinas had been numbed by 30-minute journey full of weary greys and dull browns typical of Milanese industrial architecture, this amiable setting allowed me a quiet respite before starting on my tour of Pomellato’s jewellery crafting workshops. The calm before the storm, if you will, but only where storm here refers to the collective acceleration of my heartbeat as we delved ever farther down this fascinating rabbit hole.

The atmosphere was warren-like, with a plethora of different rooms, studios and workshops, some cavernous, others intimate, where over 100 craftsmen and women keep the Casa humming to a steady rhythm.