Starting June 24, fine jewelry brand Pomellato will welcome devotees from all over the world to “Pomellato, Le Joaillier Révolutionnaire,” a retrospective exhibition held in Paris’ premier contemporary art center, the Palais de Tokyo.
Celebrating Pomellato’s heritage, craftsmanship, and cultural influence since its founding in 1967, the exhibition brings together archival and contemporary designs that showcase the Milan-based house’s enduring signatures: innovative gold chains, sculptural forms, and unconventional gemstones in smooth cabochons or faceted into candy-like cushion cuts.
The jewels will appear alongside Pomellato advertising campaign images from the 1970s through the 1990s, all shot by some of fashion’s most important photographers. Among these luminaries are Helmut Newton, Lord Snowdon, Herb Ritts, Gian Paolo Barbieri, Albert Watson, Horst P. Horst, Javier Vallhonrat, and Michel Comte. The exhibit will show how their work helped establish Pomellato’s brand identity.
From a storytelling standpoint, the retrospective—curated by Alba Cappellieri, Ph.D., professor and head of jewelry design at Politecnico di Milano—positions Pomellato as a revolutionary design house, shaping both the show’s visual narrative and the dialogue between the featured jewels and artworks.
“In the 1960s, the world of jewelry was deeply traditional, both in its aesthetic language and in its symbolic meanings,” Cappellieri stated in the exhibition notes. “Pomellato broke with convention, transforming forms, materials, techniques, behaviors, and the social symbolism. The exhibition is devoted to these revolutions and to the photographers’ discerning eyes that so masterfully captured and narrated them.”
Vincenzo Castaldo, the company’s creative director, said in the exhibition press materials, “I have always admired Pomellato’s bold and forward-thinking decision to entrust the narrative of its jewelry to the greatest masters of photography.”
Each section of the exhibit is intended to reveal a facet of Pomellato’s pioneering spirit. The visual journey begins with an immersive gallery that invites guests to time-travel through the jeweler’s aesthetic eras. A maze of mounted photographs capture “the brand’s unmistakable identity through images that remain timeless and indelible,” said Castaldo.
The section called “Iconic Chains” explores how Pomellato transformed a purely functional element into a canvas for design experimentation. “Sculptural Volumes” highlights the house’s form-forward silhouettes and buttery, tactile surfaces.
Meanwhile, “Audacious Gems” spotlights stones in unexpected color combinations and daring contrasts—the heartbeat of Pomellato heritage creations such as Bisanzio and Mosaico and the iconic Nudo series.
The final area in the exhibit honors some of the faces who have lent their presences to the house’s female empowerment and advocacy platform, Pomellato for Women.
On view through July 20, “Pomellato, Le Joaillier Révolutionnaire” coincides with Paris Haute Couture Week (July 6–9); if you’re headed there for the jewelry presentations, you’ll have plenty of time to catch the show in between appointments.
Top: Caramelle rings by Pomellato, 2005
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