Tradition, art, creativity and innovation. There is all this and much more in “Handmade” in Legnano in the goldsmith and watchmaking workshops of Dolce & Gabbana. Unique works, passed “from the heart to the hands”, presented on the evening of June 12th to Rotary club in the area in an evening entirely dedicated to profession and know-how, ethical and responsible.
An ethical responsibility, that of carrying forward a tradition which is also a profession, passing it on to young people: «Investing our time to guarantee the true generational transition – he declared the CEO of the company known throughout the world, Alfonso Dolce – it is a duty we have towards each other.” This duty includes training, with the opening of Academy for young people, and work ethics: «We deal with apparently frivolous things – said the CEO of the company which has its production “heart” in Legnano – , but within aesthetics and beauty there is infinite human capital. A beating heart, as recalled by the title of the exhibition “From the Heart to the Hands” which we inaugurated last April 7th at Palazzo Reale and which will then also arrive in New York for bringing Italian culture, art and craftsmanship to the world: a relay towards the future.”
A commitment recognized by Rotary Club Parchi Alto Milanese, whose president Paolo Tozzo gave Alfonso Dolce the honorary member certificate, after having brought the creators of the event, Andrea and Emilia Paternostro, on stage. «I like to think that the Rotarian principle which recognizes the fundamental importance of our professions and our professionalism in the service of others, can merge and find similarity with everything that comes to life through the entrepreneurial reality made by people who, like us members – have said Paolo Tozzo -, they live their intense work every day, they create, produce and live their profession with dedication and commitment, giving life to the wonderful concept of “know-how” through concrete daily works».
That “know-how” that Dolce & Gabbana has decided to enhance by rediscovering artisan techniques from a thousand-year-old tradition, almost at risk of extinction, combining them with the highest technology.
How jewels are made
The jewels are born from the heart of the stylists Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana: this idea is expressed to a group of designers who begin to create drawing on paper, first in black and white and then in colour, and comes to life in the laboratories of Legnano, shaped by the expert hands of artisans who take care of the most microscopic details through very fine workmanship.
Among these was shown the lost wax casting method. A process that requires several phases: from modeling to cutting with the hacksaw, up to welding the wax prototype which is inserted into cylinders filled with plaster fired at very high temperatures. In this way the wax dissolves and molten gold is poured in its place and, as if by magic, the plaster, immersed in a basin of water, melts, making the jewel take shape.
It is at this point that the master goldsmiths intervene by applying those highly refined and ancient processes, where man, hand, heart and passion still dominate over the machine and innovation. The work of the workers is extremely meticulous: there are those who draw on gold foil, those who use a drawing tool and a hammer to hit the gold foil on a lead base and make it three-dimensional. It works like this the chisel embossing technique with which the iconic flowers are created, motifs often recurring in Dolce & Gabbana jewels. The twisted thread technique is widely used in the Legnano laboratories and equally fascinating.
The same meticulousness and passion is used for the creation of watches: «We dress movements that must mark the time», it was explained to the large audience amazed by the alchemy with which these unique artefacts, the result of innovative techniques, come to life, in what has been defined as “the temple of excellence”. avant-garde and ancient knowledge.
Finally, Alfonso Dolce also launched a message aimed at young people and all professionals: «Try to be resilient and courageous without ever accepting compromises”
