When designing Venetian Link, the spring 2024 collection from Phillip Gavriel, creative director and designer Phillip Gabriel Maroof took a deep dive into the history of Italian chain-making.
“The box chain we use so much today was actually developed around the 1400s in Venice, which is why it came to be called the Venetian box link,” Maroof tells JCK. “Italian manufacturers don’t call it a box link. They call it the veneziana, because Venice—and Vicenza being a part of the region—was a center of jewelry manufacturing going back to the 15th century.
“Predating the veneziana name, the chain was called the manini chain. Manini basically means ‘small hands’ in Italian. These small, thin chains were produced by craftsmen with small hands in Venice in the 15th century. That’s the history of where this boxy link came from.
“Fast-forward to today,” Maroof adds, “when I wanted to introduce a more luxurious product that’s still handmade by artisans in Italy.”
The new collection, which will be on view at Phillip Gavriel’s booth in the Plumb Club pavilion at JCK Las Vegas (PC820), features bracelets and necklaces, from a classic chain link bracelet that retails for $1,680 to a bracelet with a diamond-set panther head for $5,600.
Royal Chain introduced the Phillip Gavriel line in 2008, originally “in response to the recessionary period when people were looking for affordable alternatives to gold jewelry,” Maroof says.
The brand began by offering a mix of sterling silver styles accented with gold, to help bring price points down, but over time it has evolved its focus. Today, Phillip Gavriel is committed to offering affordable, well-made fine jewelry. The Venetian Link pieces are all 14k gold, mostly yellow but some with accents of 14k white gold, retailing for $4,000 on average.
“I’m sure my next step will be to bring some of these pieces to another audience in sterling silver, in 2025,” Maroof says.
As for what Maroof is personally excited to do in Las Vegas? “There is one off-the-beaten-path Persian restaurant called Hafez,” he says. “It’s in a strip mall off the Strip. We always make a day to go there. They make the best version of Persian ice cream with saffron and pistachios.”
Top: Venetian Link 18-inch necklace in 14k gold with diamonds, $5,000
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