Loco For Oro

To be a jeweller, you must first be a dreamer, says Danilo Giannoni of Arte Oro.

- Celine Yap

IT’S BEEN said that despite our many strengths— efficient, organised, dynamic, technology-driven, to name a few—Singapore isn’t a nation for creatives. But Danilo Giannoni of Arte Oro begs to differ. The Italian jewellery designer has made Singapore a base for his bespoke jewellery business since 2017. Even though it was fate that first drew him here, rather than all-out strategic planning, our Garden City has proven itself well worth the early investment for the master jeweller.

“When I was working in Italy, Singapore was a fascinating city. Maybe because there are a lot of important jewellery clients here in the area, such as the Sultan of Brunei,” he recalls.

Before Arte Oro, Giannoni spent almost three decades working with some of his home country’s most established high-end jewellers, such as Bulgari, Damiani, Crivelli, Luca Carati and Leo Pizzo. This fiery passion for gemstones and jewellery was entirely his own, and not inherited from family, as is the case for many contemporary jewellery designers.

“It is in my blood,” he reveals. “When I was younger, I remember when my dad was reading the newspapers, I would get fascinated with glittery things on those pages. Since then, I have dreamt to become a jeweller for all the royalty in the world.” But this dream wasn’t always so clear at the beginning.