Schreiber, jewels to wear
Interview
A small minimalist shop, cozy inside as one would expect by looking at the shop window where are exhibited classic-style jewels: it’s the Schreiber jewellery shop, in the Manzoni gallery of Milan.
To welcome us Federico and Giacomo Schreiber – the founder Franco’s son and nephew – who create with passion the characteristic Schreiber jewels on the scene for over half a century.
The jewellery shop is located at the centre of the fashion quadrilateral, considered the meeting point by the citizens of Milan for over sixty years.
Since 1948 the goldsmith has been considered a compulsory destination for the fans of fine objects.
The striking elements are the simple and neat lines of the jewels taking up the typical shape of a Daisy, that in many different variants and materials has embellished the most elegant ladies of Milan, and the necklaces made of gold or precious stones and with an essential design.
Each item is taken care of in details through a craftsmanship that the family itself follow in its passage, from the search for the stones to the design up until rigging and the final product. Each jewel is a world per sè with its own history, so to make its selection special, be it a small pendant, or a sapphires and diamonds necklace.
Federico Schreiber told Luxgallery the history of the jewellery shop.
My father, Franco Schreiber born in 1921 in Brescia, where my grandfather used to successfully run the shop in Corso Zanardelli. Engineering student, due to the war he was forced to join up as artillerist and leave to Albania. When the war ended he came back to Italy and got married in Milan and opened a jewellery laboratory in the very central street of San Pietro all’ Orto. In 1948 was inaugurated in Milan the complex of the Manzoni Gallery. There the laboratory became a shop.
It was the salon of Milan that was later stormed by big companies. Here we keep producing jewellery following the same criteria that made us popular among our clients.
How do you create the jewels?
We buy the stones and we design the jewels on the basis of the shape of the stones, giving birth to unique pieces. We do not have collections: we consider what the gem allows us to create. We also create jewels according to the taste of our clients: we have, in fact, faithful and niche customers who love quality and beauty. Our strength is not our logo but the quality.
What characterizes your production?
The daisy is the most popular shape of our production. As for the rest, we create jewels with very linear shapes. The lines are neat and practical: we search, in fact, for the utility of each item which thought of to be worn. They are creations to be easily worn. One needs to wear them, not to leave them in the drawer.
All we sell comes from our hands. They are endless products, never old-fashioned, always modern.
The necklaces are either made of gold or precious stones – we do not use semi-precious stones – or of a transparent glaze applied to the jewels. Thanks to the glaze you can see the gold as you would see it through the windows of a cathedral. We make large use of pink, light blue and yellow sapphires.
How do you face the current time characterized by both the economic crisis and the new communication channels like Internet?
We are making our first steps in internet: we created a website to communicate. As for the crisis, we perceive it as all the other sectors, but we go on with our mission. There was a change in the purchase of jewellery over the last years. Now men purchase less for their women and women less for themselves. Earlier, jewels were considered an accessorize. There was a different purchase allowance.
What would you be if you were not a jeweller?
I would have loved to design cars.
Projects for the future?
We want to stay what we are
Caterina Varpi
Accessories, Boutique, Men, Women,
Tags: Brescia, Corso Zanardelli, Daisy, Fashion, federico Schreiber, Franco Schreiber, Giacomo Schreiber, gold, jewels, Manzoni Gallery, Milan, precious stones, San Pietro all'Orto, sapphyre, Schreiber jewellery shop
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