The Medusa Collection
The first time I met Alessio Boschi, an Italian jewellery designer based in Bangkok, was in Vicenzaoro, Italy in September 2018. Before that, I can only recall hearing about his luxury jewellery pieces. Meeting Alessio face to face and hearing the story behind each of his magnificent jewellery pieces was like being in another world. He has such a humble soul and is a very kind jewellery designer that we are as a generation so lucky to have and to feel inspired by the jewellery he creates. I remember I was lost among the jewellery collection he had displayed at the booth in Vicenzaoro. It probably took me over an hour to be able to go through each jewellery piece and I felt so in awe of his jewellery. Each piece was created with boundless imagination and executed with detailed precision. From Alessio's jewellery you could easily notice the creative process of each piece from start to finish, with a manual labour meticulous operation and the different shades of colour of the gemstones flowing mesmerisingly. You can see Alessio loves the curves, exuberant volumes, chromatic and luminist games of Roman Baroque style.
This time, it was my plan to visit Alessio again and meet him in person in Vicenzaoro but 2020 has turned out to be such a challenging year for everyone including the jewellery industry. With the pandemic and the worldwide lockdowns many have struggled to keep positive and creative, but for all the doldrums of 2020, we are quickly adapting to the new normal. It seems that we have all learned our lessons the hard way and we have had to understand the importance of hygiene and the power of digital technology. In 2020, the world stood still but our screens were on, providing us with the daily dose of stimulation that we need to feel alive.
Medusa ring is a precious casket consisting of an important 3 cts "portrait" cut diamond behind which is hidden a precious double-sided plaque engraved in Rome. It is set with a snake in diamonds and emeralds and on the back with a magnificent micromosaic made by the Roman master Roberto Grieco, reproducing a mosaic from the II century AD,
To keep our followers and viewers' sprits up, we as a business have gone virtual too. We have invited Alessio to our IGTV interview and he was so kind as to accept our invitation to join us live that we feel so grateful and thankful. During our live conversation, Alessio talked about one important masterpiece, his Medusa collection. He's told us why this piece was so important to him and why it represented his full idea of jewellery, also answered question like why did he choose this pieces at this moment of time, questions about his personal life and creativity, how he coped with the lockdown and lastly, was the pandemic affecting his personal life and creativity.
To get the full explanation of the Medusa collection and Alessio's answer to why this collection represents the current mood (pandemic/lockdown) watch the full live interview below;
The plaque can also be inserted in a precious fossilized wood frame (with an antiqued mirror) which can become a small ornament, a brooch or a centerpiece of a necklace with precious pinecone-shaped terminals in diamonds and keshi pearls.
My total impression of the collection is that it is evocative and original. The core of the collection has involved great attention to detailing, a myriad of little surprises and their hidden compartments and articulations, which suggest an imaginary journey in a playful way. Alessio's creation sparks curiosity and guide the wearer on a whimsical journey full of discoveries where nothing is ordinary. He's also taken inspirational journey starting from Greece and ends in Florence. The ring set with a snake in diamonds and emeralds and on the back with a magnificent micromosaic made by the Roman master Roberto Grieco, reproducing a mosaic from the II century AD, preserved in the Museo Delle Terme in Rome. A myriad of micro details recall the Greek myth of Medusa and bring us back to the famous Renaissance statue of Perseus, made by Benvenuto Cellini in Florence in 1554.
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