Editor’s Note
This article explores the remarkable journey of Simone Picchio, whose Pikkio Jewels have become synonymous with cinematic elegance, from Paolo Sorrentino’s *Parthenope* to numerous other acclaimed films.
Alongside the costumes, displayed in the showcases are also the fabulous jewels signed by Simone Picchio for Paolo Sorrentino’s ‘Parthenope’ and many other films by great directors. The interview
December 28, 2024
Cinecittà
Today, the fame of Pikkio Jewels needs no introduction in the world of jewelry for film and theater. But his personal passion, which became a choice to dedicate himself to the creative aspect until establishing himself among the top names in the sector internationally, deserves to be told.
He was looking for jewelry different from the conventional ones. When he came to us, there was a mutual infatuation between him and my father, who, with his very direct manner, told him, ‘If you don’t like the jewelry you see, make it yourself!’… thus opening a completely unexpected opportunity for both: Alberto (Spiazzi, ed.) then entered the workshop with my father, and with him, he built the jewelry he wanted. From that moment, his word of mouth opened our doors to other costume designers who were interested in doing the same for their projects. Moreover, my father already started from a historical archive of materials from the 1960s-1970s, which they integrated with Alberto, reproducing objects also belonging to different eras. Finding this situation upon my arrival, with a strong artistic inclination as well as a great desire to learn, I became the reference for the costume designers who came to us:
Rental, in fact, is in itself something ‘boring,’ because the costume designer arrives, chooses the material, I prepare it for them, the production pays for it, and that’s it. It’s a service, and there is very little creative about it, except for the fact of building the character together with the costume designer and therefore perhaps proposing ad hoc jewelry, but always within the scope of our repertoire. The stimulating thing, the real challenge, is to build an image from scratch. Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen often in Italy, because due to time and also ‘financial’ issues, there aren’t great opportunities.
Regardless of the type of film I’m involved in, I always try to have the director’s vision told to me. My intermediary, of course, is the voice of the costume designer, the person I interface with for the creation of the jewelry and the supply of repertoire material. In the specific case of Parthenope…
Our advantage over jewelry is that we already work with pre-stamped forms: so both the stones and the metal supports are semi-industrial materials, always coming from our archive. We don’t use plastics or poor stones, typically…
We love working with our materials, we have a large archive with all the components, some of which are a hundred years old and are no longer produced, and this is a great resource for us: even Carlo knows it very well, and he knows that
This archive, specifically, is continuously reinterpreted, updated, and contextualized by both me and my sister, depending on the type of jewelry to be made: a selection of materials to be used is made, they are assembled, a ‘composite’ is made, just as one does with a puzzle or with pieces of clothing or fabric that are sewn together. In the case of Parthenope, this was done with these materials, which are then joined together, assembled, then welded by our collaborators (welders), then polished, gilded, and finally sewn onto a velvet base previously constructed based on the measurements received from the actress herself. Because that jewel is just like a garment, therefore studied by Carlo also in the way it had to move, fall, the exact point on the body where the crosses had to fall to cover or not cover it… Without even having the actress for a fitting, something that at least our colleagues in the tailoring shops have at their disposal. We, on the other hand, don’t, so we worked blindly, with a sketch in hand and Carlo’s precious instructions, who, having her for a fitting, was able to calibrate the various adjustments we had to make to the jewelry.
The restoration was carried out in 2025 by Cineteca Milano starting from the original materials preserved by…
Pikkio Jewels Worn by Stars Shine at ‘Cinecittà si Mostra’
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