Gabriella Rivalta: Grand Fire Enamels on Gold, Art Jewelry Since 1969

Imagine a young woman with an ultra-fine brush — the tip as small as a pinhead — painting on a sheet of gold. Each stroke is precise, each layer of color is fired at 800 degrees before the next is applied. The process is long, unpredictable, wonderful. It's called Grand Fire enamel, and for over fifty years, it has been the unmistakable signature of Gabriella Rivalta.

1969: The Birth of an Art

It was 1969 when Gabriella Rivalta began to specialize in fire enamel miniatures. She wasn't trying to make jewelry; she was trying to paint. Her immense creativity and passion for painting soon led her to create her first works — jewelry in the fullest sense, but also true artistic miniatures, each crafted individually by hand.

In just a few years, what started as an experiment became a company. The public discovered these small masterpieces and immediately recognized their uniqueness: no other jewelry on the market resembled those of Gabriella Rivalta. Nature — flowers, animals, fruits, the sky — became gold and color in her hands.

The Grand Fire Enamel Technique

Grand Fire enamel is one of the most complex techniques in goldsmithing. Each artist takes several years to master it, under the guidance of more experienced colleagues and Gabriella herself. A small mistake can compromise days of work.

The process starts with Gabriella's drawings: the goldsmiths cut and shape gold sheets, smooth and emboss them to create three-dimensionality. Then come the painters, who apply a first coat of white enamel — the canvas on which to paint. With tiny brushes, with love and patience, they apply the colored enamel a few strokes at a time. Each layer is fired in the oven, even for just a few millimeters of brushstroke. The enamels layer, creating depth and light effects that no other technique can replicate.

The result? Colors that will never change, hard and versatile enamels, jewelry destined to last forever.

The World of Gabriella Rivalta: Nature and Fairy Tales

The subjects are unmistakable: roses, daisies, butterflies, snails, kittens, hens, landscapes suspended between fairy tale and reality. In nature and fairy tales, in the sky and animals, Gabriella sees an inexhaustible source of beauty and harmony. Each piece of jewelry tells something of this world with the eyes of someone who has never lost the gift of wonder.

The collections range from enameled silver pendants to 18-carat gold necklaces with Grand Fire enamels and precious stones. The stackable rings allow for personalized compositions, while the bracelets and necklaces bring Gabriella's miniaturized world to the neck and wrist of the wearer.

A Unique Jewel, by Definition

The most extraordinary feature of Gabriella Rivalta's jewelry is that no two are identical. Hand painting makes each piece different from the other: same subject, same technique, but two different hands at two different times always produce something unrepeatable. It's the added value of an art that cannot be industrialized.

Discover also the customizable pendants by Dodo Mariani, or the symbolic jewelry by Maman et Sophie. Explore our selection of pendants and necklaces and artisan necklaces. To choose the Rivalta piece that suits you best, book a session with our Personal Shopper.