Pomellato travels to Japan to reveal a precious new interpretation of the ancient Japanese art of kintsugi in its new jewels.

Pomellato’s first collection of jewels for 2021, has sought out the traditional Japanese repairing technique of kintsugi that uses gold resin to fuse together shattered pieces of porcelain. The technique is used to lovingly mend broken jet (ancient fossilised wood) and kogolong (a volcanic stone) and in doing so, transforms what once would have been discarded into a jewel of flawed, yet soulful beauty.

During a trip to Japan in 2019, Pomellato’s creative director Vincenzo Castaldo developed the idea to introduce kintsugi to Pomellato, believing the two share the same vision of beauty, embracing diversity and imperfection, and attracted by “the idea of celebrating your scars as a sign of strength through healing is a very contemporary philosophy. And repurposing rather than discarding is so relevant to our own lives and our commitment to sustainability.”

Lacquer masters practice the ancient art, and their expertise lies in reassembling the many components of a fractured item before the fast-drying lacquer bonds forever. Once the adhesive paste is applied to an item, it is left to dry for several weeks. Then the glue is sanded down to lie flush with the surface. At this point, a master craftsman beautifies the now-smooth seams by applying gold, silver, or platinum to them.

Pomellato’s couture collection is the result of a collaboration with a female master kintsugi artist based in Tokyo. The series is composed of two earrings, two rings, and two pendants, all of which feature artfully repaired black jet and kogolong. Craftspeople at the Casa Pomellato workshop set the stones into minimalist designs that showcase the bold kintsugi-made gold lines.