Kalos

Kal-os \kal-os’\ a. beautiful by reason of purity of heart and life; beautiful, excellent, surpassing, precious, genuine; beautiful to look at, shapely, magnificent, good, excellent in its nature and characteristics

jew-el-ry \ˈjü-əl-rē\ n. objects of precious metal often set with gems and worn for personal adornment

Kalos jewelry n.  beautiful, surpassing and genuine objects of precious metal often set with gems and worn for personal adornment.

“trendy with a traditional twist”

signor gioacchino corveddu was born in 1943 in Sardinia. Joining the Italian Navy at age 17 for voluntary service brought him to Livorno for two years and gave him his first taste of the continent. He traveled the Italian coasts plus had periods in Corfu, Sicily, Spain and France. Afterward, instead of heading back to San Gavino, he went to Rome to seek his fortune. The only job available immediately was as a dishwasher in a restaurant near Termini Station. Luckily for him (and for us!) there was an interesting artisan in a studio next door, an engraver who wanted to hand down his skills to the younger generation. Nini (Corveddu’s nickname) apprenticed to this master engraver for two years in every free moment he had. And he started frequenting the great museums in Rome. He had a brief period in Florence as well and was amazed at how much art there was in so little space. Not having money to set up his own shop kept him in the restaurant and hotel business for a few years in Rome and in Puglia. Later he became a distributor for gourmet products of Italy. In 1972 he started buying, selling and collecting antiques of every sort, even antique coins which are the love of his life.This gave him contacts in many places where antique fairs and numismatic conventions were held. Arezzo in Tuscany is a center for jewelry production and Nini was invited in 1974 to be head engraver for 1AR and did this work for 15 years off and on, pleased to work with young apprentices. “It was my give back period,” he says “I was finally able to work in my field and share at the same time the legacy that had been passed on to me by my “maestro”, Signor Ceccone.” In 1994 Nini left Arezzo to open a cultural center in Genzano, in the Alban hills south of Rome. It’s purpose was to gather artisans to share their commitment to and knowledge of their crafts, to discuss and promote art and beauty in all its varied forms. In 1999 Nini opened a “made in Italy” shop in Castel Gandolfo and another in Rome near Termini Station in 2002. At that time, besides designing jewelry, his main project was to make exact replicas of ancient coins using the old method: preparing a die, cast in iron and refined by hand with engraver’s tools, and then striking the flans which took on every aspect of the originals in weight and form. The idea behind this project was very democratic: to make available to all who love coins, beautiful reproductions; to make a collection affordable to numismatists with a tight budget. This whole idea has inspired Nini’s latest line of jewelry – Kalos. He sold his business activities and retired in 2008. Now he is presenting necklaces, pendants, earrings and rings heavily influenced by Magna Grecia images, Etruscan and Pompeian periods, imperial and republican Roman coins. The process itself used by Nini makes history tangible – you can actually hold other centuries in the palm of your hand.

sally fougerousse was born in Aurora, Illinois in 1945. In 1981 she moved to Rome, Italy starting a lifelong journey through Europe. In the spring of 2001 Fougerousse started managing Signor Gioacchino Corveddu’s jewelry shop in Castel Gandolfo and making jewelry designs of her own. She worked in his shop until  2004. Since then Fougerousse has been working with Corveddu on numerous projects including the latest venture of importing Corveddu’s hand stamped jewelry to the United States to sell exclusively through JoCoCo Jewelry.