Keep an open mind, Pomellato’s jewels seem to say, and you’ll be rewarded for your curiosity. That’s one way to interpret Stile Libero, the latest high jewellery offering by the Milanese house that is named for the free-style spirit at its heart. Comprising 65 pieces, this new collection takes a more ethos- and spirit-driven approach to the brand’s signature aesthetic.
The man at the heart of these collections is Vincenzo Castaldo, who has been with Pomellato for 24 years and became its creative director in 2015. So far, Castaldo had been establishing a modern high jewellery language for the brand, tapping into themes like its home city of Milan and the year of the house’s founding. Stile Libero, however, takes a more abstract and creative approach that feels a little like the prologue has passed.
In design, Pomellato is defined by three signatures: colour, chains and goldsmithing. “It was about working on our obsessions,” Castaldo explained over email on how these elements are incorporated. “On what already characterises us, until we arrived at interpretations that are entirely new.”
He described the creative development of Stile Libero as a journey that took the brand out of its comfort zone. Not so far as to abandon its roots, but “without self-indulgence, in pursuit of the ideal execution. This freedom is only possible when it goes hand in hand with the conscious ability to manage it. To break the rules, to go beyond the lines, to choose the ‘mistake’, the unexpected, the new, knowing exactly how far you can dare,” he said.
In the jewels, that meant designs that each have a rule- or convention-breaking detail. Castaldo pointed out the Mandala Chromia necklace, a piece he’s especially fond of. “At its heart lies an extraordinary ensemble of 99 natural, unheated sapphires collected in a range of colours that nature rarely brings together in a single creation,” he said. The multi-colour gemstones are set with Pomellato’s serti libre (free setting) technique—a composition of gems that bucks the orderly pavé tradition. “Apparent randomness is actually the hardest thing to achieve,” Castaldo said of this innocuous appearance.
Stile Libero also introduced a collaboration with French artisan Sara Bran, a goldsmith who specialises in creating gold lace jewels. Pomellato is known for goldsmithing, but its style is usually voluptuous and voluminous—the opposite of airy lace. “We wanted to explore openwork, one of the oldest goldsmithing techniques and also one of the great, demanding themes of high jewellery,” Castaldo said of the decision. The house reached out to Bran, who is among the finest independent craftspersons working on openwork, and had her interpret the Pomellato style in her way.
“She chiselled and dematerialised the plaque that’s the centrepiece of the Arabesque necklace until it became almost impalpable,” said Castaldo of the savoir-faire process. The finished jewel has a look of almost baroque detail, and Pomellato set it with 18 rose-cut diamonds for a total of 1,450 hours of craftsmanship. The necklace, Castaldo declared, is unmistakably Pomellato. “The poetic lightness of its openwork design balanced by the bold volume of the chain, a modular interpretation of our Iconica aesthetic.”
What about diamonds, then, which in high jewellery tend to be absolutely flawless and colourless? Pomellato naturally did away with easy expectations and explored a warmer, more russet aesthetic to these gemstones. The Byzantine necklace is set with nine emerald-cut diamonds on a smooth and generous rose gold torque.
The difference is in the details. Those diamonds are in fact brown, and they are nestled into the necklace instead of raised and elevated. “Bespoke bezels carved as circular openings [allow] each stone to nestle seamlessly within the design,” Castaldo explained. The ‘concave crater-like’ openings that the diamonds are set on are mirror-polished to enhance and reflect the gems’ colours, while the outside surfaces of the necklace are brushed to a matt, velvety finish. These are details that break the rules of jewellery—all the better for free spirits after a different shine.
The October 2026 ‘Artisanal’ issue of Vogue Singapore is available online and on newsstands.
