Our dad has a renowned coin collection, he has collected coins from all over the world since we were children and now his grandchildren love looking through them, just as we once did as children ourselves.
One afternoon spent rummaging though we couldn't help but be inspired by the images and imprints, researching the time in history when they would have been in circulation and how our dad had acquired them. One particular piece was found buried in the garden of our childhood home 45 years ago. He found it on the day he and mom moved into the house, an antique Italian medallion found in the garden of a Birmingham home- it was a piece he would cherish forever. We loved the rustic charm of this piece and have given it a new lease of life as the Tino Pendant.
Coins we chose from our dads collection
Next, all the old family photos were out. So many beautiful photos from the 70s of our cool looking mom and dad before Marianna and I came along. My dad always had his gold medallion coin necklace on (his sister gifted it to him before she went away) and our mom with her thin string necklace of coral, pearls or gold chain.
Dad never without his medallion pendant necklace, 1970s
Mom preferred a fine chain necklace, 1970s
Dad still has the coin from the necklace- snapped from the chain - and it got us thinking we would love to recreate those same styles of necklaces our parents looked so cool wearing in the 70s for ourselves.
We decided to chose a few of our favourites and take them to the jewellery quarter in Birmingham to be made into moulds. This was an amazing experience in itself, as a father sat next to son in the work studio passing down traditional techniques and expertise in jewellery making, they created our moulds for us within their own family business.
Birmingham Jewellery Quarter, making wax moulds of our coins
We sent the moulds to our manufacturers in Italy to incorporate them into our own designs using solid silver and then plating in 18ct gold with any embellishment we had asked for.
Finished necklaces
We used Roman style boarders, mini pearls and delicate flowers to be incorporated into our designs. Dad also had an old St Christoper charm that we incorporated onto the chain of the Taormina Necklace, along with natural baroque pearls, to be worn as protection when travelling (to Taormina, if you are lucky enough!).
We carefully choose a different chain for each piece. Chunky, delicate and ornate, each piece has its own individuality, making each one perfect for layering. You can also remove most of the coins enabling you to wear the chain alone if you prefer and of course we designed a simple pearl and ink chain, named aptly Linda after our mom too. We just love layering them all together.
We have 4 beautifully original Italian coin pendant necklaces included in our Treasures Collection- Roma, Tino, Taormina and Agrigento. Which one is your favourite?
The Francesca, Linda and Tino Necklaces
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