Pomellato’s values lie in celebrating understated elegance, something that resonates very closely with Italian women, who are elegant and sophisticated. While Pomellato has been built on being modern and contemporary in terms of its designs, when it comes to the savoir-faire and Italian craftsmanship it very much appreciates the historical skills and treasures that its country has to offer.
Founded in 1967, Pomellato prides itself on being a brand that creates minimalist, elegant jewellery that features have what seems to be a simple design but yet adds style and a touch of beauty to every woman that wears it. Someone who knows understated elegance is CEO Sabina Belli. Belli joined Pomellato in 2015 as the first female CEO of the brand. Her mission was to make Pomellato the first global luxury Italian fashion fine jeweller, with an unconventional and colourful identity. With a background in luxury, Belli brought her business experience to the brand, but more importantly, she brought a female point of view, something that would be in line with the Pomellato’s goal of empowering women. Pomellato is not just unconventional by its design. Its marketing campaigns aim to really connect with women by touching on current and profound issues and often feature real women in their content. To find out more about the values of the brand, the importance of made in Italy and the strategy on moving forward after the coronavirus crisis, we talk to CEO Sabina Belli.
What does Italy mean to you?
Italy to me means creativity and genius. An engineering mind-set merged with creativity.
Tell us more about the importance of the “Made in Italy” and why do you think there is such a fascination with this concept globally?
I think there is a fascination with Made in Italy because of the combination of high quality and excellence with a twist of originality and a style that’s very unique.
Sabbia rings collection
How do you think the values and culture of Italy are reflected through Pomellato?
They are absolutely reflected in Pomellato since the brand embodies the pillars of the Italian culture of design, expert goldsmith and the inner elegance of women – that notion of ‘you don’t need to do much to look cool and elegant when you’re Italian’ and with just one piece of Pomellato jewellery you can add an elegant touch. It’s effortless Italian style.
When all of this is over will you be changing any of the strategies of the brand and has it had an impact on how you will move forward?
Yes, I consider this time being a learning curve. We have learnt a lot about the price of life and the importance of being alive and bringing something to this planet, rather than just taking energy from it. Going forward I think we should give back to the world in terms of safety, healthcare, environment and most importantly, respect.
Pomellato has always given back by putting women in the forefront – we saw this with the recent campaign related to domestic violence – to what extent do you think these sorts of campaigns are the way forward?
It really struck us when people were being told to stay at home because the idea is that home is a safe place to be, but for many women, they were finding themselves in the worst possible situation when being asked to stay home. So we started talking about this publicly to raise awareness and make sure that people understand what is going on. And I think this is something we should do more of. Life will go on but the domestic violence will still be there and I think it’s part of the responsibility of the brands to use their channels of communication to also stress on these kinds of important situations and highlight them for everyone around the world. So we will, of course, continue with these techniques and I think probably one of the next big topics will be how to reintegrate into life, especially or Millennials who will have been affected greatly by this situation and change of lifestyle.
Sabbia Collection
Pomellato has seen great success with its Nudo collection – why do you think this collection, in particular, has been so popular?
I think because this collection highlights how minimalism can be perfect and can offer so much. The pieces are made from a single stone that doesn’t need any decoration to stand out. It’s a minimal style but yet it’s very complicated in terms of its savoir-faire. It’s the idea of the magic of something that is very simple but yet, you know that in order to get there it was a work of complexity and high savoir-faire.
What can you tell us about the recent Earth Day pieces?
At Pomellato we are extremely focused on trying to make sure that there will be regulation in coloured gems so that we have a supply chain that is ethical. This has happened already with diamonds and with some of the iconic gems such as emerald and sapphire. But with coloured gems, it hasn’t really been done yet. There are a lot of different steps that these stones have to go through, so it’s really important that the same consciousness happens with coloured gems. We’ve started to work on this and the first trial is with the Lapis Lazuli and we can trace since we are involved in the entire process, starting from the mining phase. We wanted to test this with one project so that going forward we can try to regulate the market of coloured gemstones, as has been done for other stones.
What is the first thing you’re going to do when the COVID-19 situation is over?
I want to help children in need around the world and that is something that really matters to me.
Nudo Collection
What is your first memory of Italy as a child?
The majestic feeling of Italian monuments. Feeling so small in front of these huge historical creations. Especially in places like Rome. There is something that makes you feel small and humble when you’re in front of such genius and beauty.
Where do you like to travel to in Italy?
Rome is aesthetically the most breath-taking city. But I also love Milan. It is a city that may look ugly and dark from the outside, but if you get to know it better, you discover that there are a lot of very interesting things going on.
What is an Italian tradition you have with your family?
We tend to always listen to music from the sixties and seventies. We love to listen to the iconic Italian pop music. It’s always such a pleasure.
What is the motto you are living by now?
There is a solution to everything.
Fantina Collection
How are you spending your days during quarantine?
I’m trying to keep a routine that’s similar to my regular days. I wake up around 7.30 am and then I work out. I spend a lot of time working and connecting with my team, but I also try to mix up my day – so every two hours I try to do something different. The days are actually flying!
What’s your favourite Italian phrase?
It’s more than a phrase it’s a concept that was developed by Alessandro Manzoni.
It’s the concept of “Provvidenza” which is related to destiny! You can’t control what happens and your path is already designed for you, but you can influence this with your own fate. It also talks about how we always deserve something better than we think.
What message would you like to give to your customers in the Middle East?
We are waiting for you to come back to Italy because we need people of a high level of sophistication in understanding what we are about. We will be opening our doors again soon for all of our friends in the Middle East.
How would you describe Italy in one word?
Creativity.
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