Roman Jewelry in Rome

A couple of summers ago, I spoke at a conference in Northern Italy, and then met Mark in Rome. We had a magical trip. We sipped coffee for hours on the rooftop of our hotel overlooking the Pantheon, wandered the streets until it was too hot and returned to our hotel for a siesta before a long, late dinner. (When we return next year with an infant, I’m sure it will follow that rhythm.)

On one of those late morning meandering, we visited the jeweler Massimo Maria Melis, whose small atelier is just around the corner from Piazza Navona. The 72-year-old Massimo had found his way to goldsmithing decades earlier via costume design studies. During that period, he spent time in museums and was drawn to ancient goldwork — the heft of the pieces, the tone of the gold. It was all quite different from modern goldwork. Massimo learned those antique techniques and eventually commissions from friends and family led to him opening up a shop for the public.

On this trip, I wanted to see this antique style goldwork first hand. The rosier color of Massimo’s gold —which glows rather than glitters — is the result of his own secret formula. It is an effort to get closer to the gold of Roman jewelry. Ancient jewelers usually worked with 24 carat (99.9% pure gold). That level of purity makes the gold too soft for modern life. So Massimo works with 21 carats — the closest he can get to the purity of ancient gold while maintaining the solidity that modern life demands.

My favorites of his pieces incorporate actual fragments of ancient Rome — coins or stones. There seems something a little magical about possessing a piece of ancient life. I didn’t purchase anything on this trip but I threw my obligatory coin in the Trevi Fountain so there’s always a next time.

But on our wedding day, I gifted Mark an ancient coin. This was a Byzantine coin — so part of the Roman empire. I found this coin on Etsy. The ‘M’ was an indicator of the domination (40 — also my age when we got married). Mark is more of a silver person than gold, so it was perfect for him. But I’m still leaving a place in my jewelry box for my own piece of antiquity.