The Italian Pavilion at JIS Miami: behind the scenes!

It’s well established by this point that I adore Italian jewelry – the passion and creativity are unparalleled, and the country’s rich history of jewelry production means that Italian jewelers have centuries of skilled craftsmanship at their disposal to bring those inspired visions to life. So when the Italian Trade Agency invited me to join them at the Italian Pavilion at JIS Miami, I jumped at the chance to bring you more coverage of The Extraordinary Italian jewelry!

JIS Miami is the second-largest jewelry trade show in the Western hemisphere, after JCK Las Vegas, and the Italian Pavilion is that show’s mini Italian jewelry embassy; a vibrant collection of 30+ remarkable Italian brands and one hidden espresso machine.

Enough talk – let’s look at the The Extraordinary Italian Jewelry.

These rings were the first design I was drawn to at the Italian Pavilion, and I’m still fascinated by them. The brand is called Spartan Ring and, as you might have guessed, the design is inspired by the ancient Greek warriors of Sparta.

The jewels are unisex, in recognition of the warrior spirit that lives inside all of us, regardless of gender. Each ring is designed in the shape of a warrior’s helmet, carefully curved to fit comfortably on the finger. They are just so creative and so well executed!

My favorite element is the reverse-set diamonds and sapphires on the cheeks of the all gem rings. Such a bold and fierce look! Also it’s worth mentioning that the all metal rings (which are perfect as an everyday reminder of one’s inner strength) are pretty affordable for such well-made jewelry.

Speaking of bold and beautiful – I am so excited to have had another chance to see Amlè’s charismatic designs. I met this brand at JCK Las Vegas, but their booth was mobbed and I didn’t have a chance to really get up in there.

At the Italian Pavilion during JIS Miami, I made a point of visiting Amlè early in the morning so that there would be less competition! These pieces – the star tiara and glorious pearl statement earrings – were my favorites of the brand’s new fall collection. I always enjoy a tiara, but these earrings are the real star of the show.

I want to make sure to point out that Amlè makes costume jewelry: these beauties are high quality material, but they’re not real pearls or solid gold. So you get all this look without emptying your bank account.

This beautiful necklace from Carada remains one of my favorite pieces from the Italian Pavilion at JIS Miami.

Carada does something very unique: they specialize in creating custom settings for both new and vintage cameos. They make beaded frames, necklaces, earrings – you name it. The cameo is affixed to a backing of leather and then the beadwork is hand knotted around the mounted cameo, either in a halo to frame the cameo or sometimes to form a whole chain, like with this piece!

This killer bracelet is from another brand that makes luxury costume jewelry: Graziella. It’s still very high quality – think more affordable stones and gold plated metal – but it’s a price point that’s accessible to more consumers.

This piece is a perfect example of something I love about The Extraordinary Italian Jewelry: these designers offer beauty that spans all price points. You don’t have to be rich to enjoy adorning yourself with gorgeous jewelry.

Here I am wearing another cameo creation by Carada. You can see that the scale is incredible: this is a HUGE cameo, and the beadwork adds so much more dimension and color to an already remarkable piece.

Don’t fall in love with this exact one, though – they’re all one of a kind and apparently this stunner was snapped up shortly after I took it off. Carada does custom work, though, so if you have a cameo lying around that you’re not wearing, maybe you should consider having Carada spruce it up for you!

I love this skull ring by Giuliana di Franco!! This ring is so colorful and joyful, even for a skull.

Giuliana di Franco’s jewelry is all bright and whimsical like this, and every piece incorporates symbols, colors, or themes that are a reference to Sicily. Like so much of The Extraordinary Italian Jewelry at the Italian Pavilion, history and tradition inspires Giuliana di Franco’s designs.

This bracelet by Nuovi Gioielli looks like a gold lace scrunchie and I absolutely love it. It was one of the first pieces I saw at the Italian Pavilion and it remains one of my favorites.

Isn’t the dimensional of this piece fantastic? It’s so light and delicate but the structure makes it so very striking.

How fun are these rings by SBS Capri?? They feature black, white, or glitter enamel on top and they’re set with deliciously vivid Swarovski crystals for major style power at a friendly price range.

I love that the Italian Pavilion at JIS Miami included several brands who create in this niche of luxury level costume jewelry – The Extraordinary Italian jewelry doesn’t necessarily need to be made of precious gems. This niche is so perfect for those of us who care about quality and want to invest in something that will last, but can’t always swing a diamond-level price point.

This Moraglione 1922 necklace is made from fossilized coral and diamonds. The coral is what creates that fascinating pattern in the center of the pendant. It looks like painted flowers, but it’s a cross section of a piece of fossilized coral.

I find this piece mesmerizing. The delicate beauty of the coral is so unique, and so perfectly complimented by the pendant’s graduated diamond halo.

These rings are a perfect example of what I love about Italian jewelry: they’re exquisitely made, so comfortable you can forget you’re wearing them, and so subtly chic that they’ll elevate any outfit you pair them with.

These beauties are by K di Kuore, who makes the light, springy gold cuffs that so fascinated me this year when I was hunting The Extraordinary Italian Jewelry in Las Vegas.

This green beaded necklace with gold accents is another piece from Graziella, who made the fabulous dragonfly bracelet we saw up top.

I adore this piece. It’s so bold and chic, and the color is fantastic. I also love the texture that the green beads bring to the piece. The clasp is in the gold element that I’m wearing in the front, but you could easily wear it to the side or back for a different look.

How gorgeous is this autumnal leaf ring by Vendorafa? It’s gold with delicately colored enamel and diamonds. I love the gentle shift of color across the ring’s surface and how you can see the details of the leaf veins through the translucence of the enamel.

This collection has a number of pieces: leaf earrings, necklaces of leaves joined tip to tip, yellow leaves, green leaves – but this little ring in vivid red and gold was my favorite.

Another design that uses enamel, but in a very different way! These light, flexible bangles from Oro Trend are a delight to behold. I love when a piece of fine jewelry makes me smile, and these definitely did.

Also worth mentioning: you see how the diamond accents on these beauties are made up of groups of small stones, rather than single larger diamonds? That makes these much more affordable than they would be otherwise. My favorite is the one all the way to the right, the gold and turquoise.

Let’s take one more look at my favorite Spartan Ring, because I can’t get enough of it.

These rings are so well designed: they really are comfortable, despite their bold scale.

The first time I saw Rajola, I was too fascinated by their incredible coral to pay attention to anything else. This time, THESE PEARLS stole the show.

I mean, can you even?? Rows and rows of gloriously lumpy pearls separated by ruby, emerald, and sapphire beads…with matching earrings and a matching ring. It made me feel like a queen. (See the live action version of this Italian Pavilion moment on Rajola’s Facebook page.)

Another stunning cameo. This one is by Salvatore Collaro. Italy’s history with cameos goes way way back, so it’s not surprising that there were quite a few on offer in the Italian Pavilion.

I love this cameo because of how clearly you can see the necklaces she’s wearing. You’ve gotta love jewelry wearing jewelry.

It’s hard to do classic Italian jewelry better than bold gold executed gorgeously. These flower rings by Vendorafa are killer. The colors are lovely, but the careful texturing of the gold is what makes them irresistible.

A huge thank you to all the extraordinary Italian jewelry brands of the Italian Pavilion at JIS Miami for being so kind and welcoming to me and letting me play with alllllll of their jewelry, and just as enthusiastic a grazie to the Italian Trade Agency for the opportunity to work alongside them again! I had an absolutely wonderful time.

Want more of The Extraordinary Italian Jewelry? See my past coverage here, visit the Extraordinary Italian Jewelry Instagram or website here, or search the hashtag #TheExtraordinaryItalianJewelry on Intagram and Twitter.

The gorgeous rings in the photo above are by Oro Trend.

This sponsored post on The Extraordinary Italian Jewelry is brought to you by the Italian Trade Agency.