Curating
In September 2025 The Jewelry Book, edited by Melanie and published by Phaidon came out as an authoritative A-Z guide of the last 200 years of jewelry history, from Chanel pearls and iron jewels at Hemmerle set with flawless diamonds to the Notorious B.I.G. and Greta Garbo, this book offers indispensable insight into the artists, creative houses, and style icons who have defined jewelry. Eminent creatives such as Wallace Chan, Elsa Schiaparelli, Suzanne Belperron, and Bhagat appear alongside such lesser-known trailblazers such as Maōri jade carver Joel Marsters and Winifred Mason Chenet, a pioneering metalsmith and designer. No book on jewelry would be complete without pieces from the great heritage houses: Cartier, Tiffany & Co., Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari, Chaumet, Harry Winston, and Chopard which all make an appearance.
In conjunction with the book’s launch, Melanie curated this exhibition at Elisabetta Cipriani Gallery in London launching on 24 September – the day of publication. The London exhibition, entitled Hotel 87 and other Relics, brought together over 20 artists and design houses featured in The Jewelry Book. Each expressed a personal connection to Italy, whether through inspiration drawn from its cultural and aesthetic legacy, or through a formative experience that has left a lasting and meaningful imprint. The exhibition was framed around a conceptual installation composed of five objects collected during Melanie’s recent travels through Italy, each imbued with historical, cultural, and symbolic resonance.
A square handkerchief of handmade lace from the weavers of Pescocostanzo (Abruzzo), crafted by local villagers, evoked the enduring traditions of a place where time appears to stand still. A carved soap of Eredi Zucca, with its rich history in Milanese barbershops, represented a bygone era when such establishments were centres of social and political exchange. A rosary dedicated to Pope Francis encapsulated a moment of collective mourning witnessed at the Vatican, where pilgrims and Romans gathered to pay their respects.
A blackened silver horn (cornicello), gifted by an Italian goldsmith, serves as a protective talisman against the Evil Eye and drew connections to both Greek and Roman mythology. Finally, Hotel 87, a seemingly unremarkable yet deeply evocative hotel in Rome, symbolized the absurdity and unpredictability of contemporary life. Here, a pair of Umbro pants inexplicably hung from a bathroom door handle serving as a moment of unexpected surrealism, a sharp contrast to the other objects’ historical weight.
These talismanic objects served as conceptual anchors, inviting the artists to create jewellery pieces that drew inspiration from their own narratives. The exhibition brought together the contemporary and the historical, the sacred and the surreal, just as the book does, to interpret and transform the symbolic power of these objects and their meaning into wearable art through a new narrative. The intention was to create a dialogue between object and adornment, exploring how jewellery can serve as a vessel for storytelling, memory, and cultural continuity. The jewellery pieces, much like the original objects, acted as modern-day talismans — evocative, symbolic, and deeply rooted in the textures of Italian life. The exhibition not only showcased these pieces as stand-alone works of art but also positioned them within a broader narrative that connects contemporary artistic practice to Italy’s rich and layered cultural history.
The contemporary jewellery artists were:
Giampaolo Babetto
Louise Bourgeois – Courtesy Didier Limited
Bulgari – Courtesy Eleuturi London
Pol Bury
Wallace Chan
Attilio Codognato – Courtesy Eleuteri London
EC X EC LAB
Melanie Grant
Grima
Hedy Martinelli
Giuseppe Penone
Arnaldo Pomodoro – Courtesy Didier Limited
Cora Sheibani
Castro Smith
Sophia Vari
Giorgio Vigna
Selection of Vintage Jewelry– Courtesy Piccadilly Vaults
Elisabetta Cipriani Gallery
Exhibition dates: 23 – 27 September 2025
Press View: 23 September 10:00 am– 12:00 pm
Collector’s Preview: 23 September 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm by invitation only
Private Event: 23 September 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Opening: 24 September 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Engraving Masterclass with Castro Smith: 25 September 4:00 – 6:00 pm (pictured above)
25 September 10:00 – 3:00 pm
26-27 September: Collector’s tours: 10:00 – 6:00 pm by appointment
