MEET SILVIA

Meet Silvia Gravili, architect and director of an art foundation in Venice. Discover her jewelry philosophy and her tips for a perfect gallery style. 

How your job at the art foundation influenced your style?

It has influenced it a lot because I believe that for visitors who come to the foundation it is pleasing to find a gallery manager dressed in a way that is consistent with the space she works in. The foundation is a minimalist place: white walls and concrete floor. On top of that, I had an architectural education and training so my favorite colors are black and white and neutral tones. I do not use jeans or sweaters anymore, but I always wear a shirt. The visitor's welcome for me is not limited to the verbal one but it also concerns my outfit. I try to have a nice and not too glamorous look to not distract attention from the works at the foundation.

What do you do then to make your minimal look more personal?

I always add a jewel, especially a ring.

Which jewel do you never take off even when you go to sleep?

Three rings: the first one was for my engagement, the second one for the wedding and the third one for the birth of my daughter, Anita.

Is your baby's arrival a change in your way of wearing jewels?

No, I just grew up as a woman. I went away a bit from diamonds and came closer to the stones whose colors attract me more now.

How to integrate jewels in your daily style? Do you have a favorite jewel?

The jewelry I wear must be light. I must forget to wear it. My favorites are easily wearable yellow gold or pink gold earrings, and a ring. 

Which jewel according to you should never miss in the jewelry box of every woman?

I'm personally a loyal ring, even though I do not have a tapered hand, because I love looking at it during the day. I couldn't do the same with necklaces or earrings. Sometimes I also take pictures of my hand with rings. 

Which is the first memory you've tied up with a jewel?

A beautiful ring with a dark garnet that I bought for myself with my savings some years ago. It gave me a lot of satisfaction and I must tell you that I bought for myself the 80% of my jewelry.

Any grandmother jewelry piece?

I have inherited a few of them, but due to my great passion for jewelry I prefered to fond them and create new ones. I love transforming them. I am not an old-fashioned-rings kind of person, I am afraid. I love minimal and contemporary lines, so I usually go to a goldsmith, explain my ideas and see what happens. I am not always happy with the result. Even if it could appear as a simple thing, jewelry design can be quite complicated. And you know what I mean. 

Do you have a favorite Isla Fontaine piece?

It is from the latest collection: the Lunas earrings. Because they are in yellow gold, very light and also give a lot of light on the face. 

Which places would you recommend to see a woman coming to Venice for the first time?

I would suggest her to visit the Sestiere Cannaregio. Out of traditional touristic path, it is definitely my favorite with its Madonna dell'Orto church, the Wilmotte Foundation for Architecture and after that have a good glass of wine in one of the bars (we call them Bacari) along the Canale della Misericordia. A must to-go for the Venetian movida.