Sabbadini Milano

For nearly a century, Sabbadini of Milan has produced top-of-the-line diamond and other gemstone jewelry. The Italian company’s signature creativity makes its products unmistakable. From lavish brooches — encrusted with tourmaline, onyx and diamonds — to simple gold bracelets, each piece is an imaginative work of splendor.

In the 1940s, diamond importer Alberto Esquenazi moved from Spain to Milan, where he partnered with his son-in-law Bruno Sabbadini to create the Sabbadini brand, headed by Bruno. They worked together to trade in quality gemstones, with a special emphasis on emeralds and rubies. The company saw its great success as it worked with Italian manufacturers to produce jewelry crafted in traditional and Renaissance styles.

Bruno brought up his son, Alberto, in the business, and by the 1960s, Alberto was managing the company alongside his father. While Bruno was a traditionalist, Alberto enjoyed experimentation, but both placed the highest value on continuity, creativity and credibility, which were the pillars of the company’s mission. In 1967, Sabbadini stepped down as the head of the company and gave the reins to his son.

Alberto Sabbadini moved its concepts in a new direction, incorporating a love of precious stones and an experimental approach. He often collaborated with his wife, Stefania, relying on her unique sense of style to help move the company forward. In the 1980s, Sabbadini designed the Bee brooch for Stefania. The bee soon became the company’s trademark icon, adorning several pieces in a wide array of presentations, from sapphire Baby Bee earrings to diamond Bee bracelets. 

During the 1990s, Alberto and Stefania invited their oldest son, Pierandrea, to take on a substantial leadership role. The Sabbadini brand subsequently was infused with fresh creativity that reflected the sensibilities of the new millennium. Alberto and Stefania later invited their daughter, Micol, to work as a brand ambassador and a creative consultant.

Sabbadini continues to craft exquisite jewelry out of Milan, using only the highest-quality gemstones and precious metals. The company carries with it an enduring vision of creating distinguished works that can be handed down for generations.

On 1stDibs, explore the brilliant craft of Sabbadini rings, necklaces, earrings and more.

Gold is the feel-good metal, the serotonin of jewelry. Wear vintage and antique gold necklaces, watches, gold bracelets or gold rings and you feel happy, you feel dressed, you feel, well, yourself. 

Gold, especially yellow gold, with its rich patina and ancient pedigree going back thousands of years, is the steady standby, the well-mannered metal of choice. Any discussion of this lustrous metal comes down to a basic truth: Gold is elementary, my dear. Gold jewelry that couples the mystique of the metal with superb design and craftsmanship achieves the status of an enduring classic. Many luxury houses have given us some of our most treasured and lasting examples of gold jewelry over the years.

Since its founding, in 1837, Tiffany & Co. has built its reputation on its company jewelry as well as its coterie of boutique designers, which has included Jean Schlumberger, Donald Claflin, Angela Cummings and Elsa Peretti. There are numerous gold Tiffany classics worth citing. Some are accented with gemstones, but all stand out for their design and the workmanship displayed.

For the woman who prefers a minimalist look, the Tiffany & Co. twist bangle (thin, slightly ovoid) is stylishly simple. For Cummings devotees, signature pieces feature hard stone inlay, such as her pairs of gold ear clips inlaid with black jade (a play on the classic Chanel black and tan), or bangles whose design recalls ocean waves, with undulating lines of lapis lazuli and mother-of-pearl. And just about any design by the great Jean Schlumberger is by definition a classic.

Even had he eschewed stones and diamonds, Southern-born David Webb would be hailed for the vast arsenal of heavy gold jewelry he designed. Gold, usually hammered or textured in some manner, defines great David Webb jewelry. The self-taught jeweler made very au courant pieces while drawing inspiration from ancient and out-of-the-way sources — East meets West in the commanding gold necklaces made by Webb in the early 1970s. The same could be said for his endlessly varied gold cuffs.

In Europe, many houses have given us gold jewelry that sets the highest standard for excellence, pieces that were highly sought after when they were made and continue to be so. 

Numerous designs from Cartier are homages to gold. There are the classic Trinity rings, necklaces and bracelets — trifectas of yellow, white and rose gold. As a testament to the power of love, consider the endurance of the Cartier Love bracelet.

Aldo Cipullo, Cartier’s top in-house designer from the late 1960s into the early ’70s, made history in 1969 with the Love bracelet. Cipullo frequently said that the Love bracelet was born of a sleepless night contemplating a love affair gone wrong and his realization that “the only remnants he possessed of the romance were memories.” He distilled the urge to keep a loved one close into a slim 18-karat gold bangle. 

BVLGARI and its coin jewelry, gemme nummarie, hit the jackpot when the line launched in the 1960s. The line has been perennially popular. BVLGARI coin jewelry features ancient Greek and Roman coins embedded in striking gold mounts, usually hung on thick link necklaces of varying lengths. In the 1970s, BVLGARI introduced the Tubogas line, most often made in yellow gold. The Tubogas watches are classics, and then there is the Serpenti, the house's outstanding snake-themed watches and bracelets.

A collection called Monete that incorporated the gold coins is one of several iconic BVLGARI lines that debuted in the 1970s and ’80s, catering to a new generation of empowered women. Just as designers like Halston and Yves Saint Laurent were popularizing fuss-free ready-to-wear fashion for women on the go, BVLGARI offered jewels to be lived in. 

Since Van Cleef & Arpels opened its Place Vendôme doors in 1906, collection after collection of jewelry classics have enchanted the public. As predominantly expressed in a honeycomb of gold, there is the Ludo watch and accessories, circa the 1920s, and the golden Zip necklace, 1951, whose ingenious transformation of the traditional zipper was originally proposed by the Duchess of Windsor. Van Cleef's Alhambra, with its Moroccan motif, was introduced in 1968 and from the start its popularity pivoted on royalty and celebrity status. It remains one of VCA’s most popular and collected styles.

Mention must be made of Buccellati, whose name is synonymous with gold so finely spun that it suggests tapestry. The house’s many gold bracelets, typically embellished with a few or many diamonds, signified taste and distinction and are always in favor on the secondary market. Other important mid-20th-century houses known for their gold-themed jewelry include Hermès and Ilias Lalaounis.

Find a stunning collection of vintage and antique gold jewelry on 1stDibs.