Peseli jewels: A Multi-faceted brand

Marianna Marolla is the owner and founder of Peseli Jewels: descending from an ancient family of jewellers, she followed in her ancestors’ footsteps.

Marianna: “My family owns one of the oldest jewellery shops in Corfu and maybe in Greece: it was established in 1889. My great grandfather was the commissioned jeweller of the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, the husband of Empresses Sissy who built the Achilleion Palace in Corfu for his wife, who spent her happiest years there.”

I asked Marianna the meaning of the name Peseli ( Πεσελί), and she explained to me that it is a basic part of the traditional costume which Corfiot women used to wear in the past. The “peseli” is the velvet or felt cardigan, embroidered with gold thread and decorated with gold tresses. The symbols of Corfiot culture, the two-headed beggar, the tree of life, the flowered garlands, the partridges and other beautiful symbols are imprinted on the fabric of the “Peseli”

The Ionian island Corfu is mentioned frequently in Greek mythology. It is also known as Kerkyra, the name of the daughter of the river god, Aesopus. According to the myth, Poseidon, the god of the sea, fell in love with Kerkyra, kidnapped her and brought her on this island. The creations of Marianna evoke all this fascinating world and background. Her collections are a modern take on nature, the sea, underwater creatures, mythology and cultural legacy.

She is a gemmologist with excellent academic training: she studied gemmology and diamond grading at GIA in Carlsbad and London and also has a goldsmith degree. For this reason, she always uses beautiful coloured stones that she can evaluate properly. Sometimes, she favours imperfections in the stones to better represent the uniqueness of nature and art. How beautiful is this collection named Aeolus, after the wind god? The rings of this line are exquisitely handcrafted. They are made from 18 Karat rose and yellow gold. The ring with the brown bar is fossilized wood set with orange sapphires and diamonds, the green ring is set with malachite and green emeralds, and the black one is set with black onyx and black diamonds.

The Cosmos collection is an aquatic line presented by Peseli Jewels at Artistar 2019 in Milan, Italy. These earrings resemble two small jellyfishes. They are cast from 18-Karat white gold and dotted with blackened and grey diamonds along the body and tentacles. This mysterious collection also includes creatures such as octopuses, floating and dancing in the sea.

The passion for mythology is well depicted in her Nereid collection. The Nereids were goddesses of the sea and protectors of sailors and fishermen, coming to the aid of those in distress. In this precious necklace set with rubies and diamonds, the important element is the central cameo. The nymph portrayed there seems to be protecting the wearer.

The new Royalty collection is completely different, demonstrating how vast Peseli Jewels’ repertoire really is. As Marianna told me in our interview: “I love fairy tales and stories of princesses and kings, that’s why I conceived the royalty line. I see all women as princesses”.

The love of nature – flowers in particular – is visible in the Calyx collection. The term indicates the outer whorl of a flower, made of separate sepals. This line gets its inspiration from flora and nature. These floral earrings mirror the effect of floating petals 18 karats yellow gold with brilliants, tsavorite garnets, rubies, sapphires and golden beryl.

For the future collections, Marianna has new ideas: she would like to combine leather with jewellery to make a boho-chic line with cameos and skulls, for instance, armbands with gold accents.