New arrivals

All new products
Estate jewelry
Antique jewelry
Objets d’Art and Vertu

BERNARDO ANTICHITA'

At the end of the nineteenth century the family settled in Florence where it opened the prestigious shop on the Ponte Vecchio, where you could find collections of jewels and selected high-level art objects. Adolfo Melli , Caterina’s great-grandfather, continued the business by developing and maintaining relations with foreign countries, to the point of making the company a point of reference also for the royal families of Europe, whose testimonies are still preserved today. Our shop, still a privileged destination for a refined clientele, passed to Gustavo Melli , Caterina’s grandfather, and it was he who passed on his knowledge to his nephews and introduced them into the world of antiques. Today Caterina Pasquinucci and her husband Fabio Bernardo with her son Duccio continue the family tradition and continue the activity in the historic shop on Ponte Vecchio, at n.44r.

We are waiting for you to share news and passions, which change over time but never change.

INSTAGRAM

  • A Late 16th Century Renaissance Ring In Solid 22k Yellow Gold Set with 8 table cut diamonds (approx. 1.5ct) #bernardo
  • Archaeological Revival Gold And Lily of the Valley Micromosaic Brooch/Pendant 1860’s #bernardo 18kt gold micromosaic-pendant, approx. 1860, circumferential wine leaves, centered oval micro mosaic on black ground, lily of the valley presentation, also wearable as a brooch, lug removable. Weight: 17.4 g Lenght: 7cm
  • 18th Century Gimmel Fede Gold Ring, Italian 1790’s #bernardo Romance and love are conveyed to the fullest in this sumptuous ring composed of symbolically rich elements: Fede hands, connected bands and hearth. Each element of this ring expresses love and affection, as well as the union of marriage. The clasped hands or ‘mani in fede’, is a motif derived from the Roman ritual of the joining of the right hands during the betrothal ceremony known as dextrarum iunctio. Messages of romantic love on jewelry, and mottoes or inscriptions on plain gold bands go back to the Middle Ages. Beginning in the thirteenth century, ring brooches and rings were given as love tokens and the language of love was expressed in words and amatory motifs. Each element of this ring expresses love and affection, as well as the union of marriage. The clasped hands or ‘mani in fede’ (Italian term for hands in faith), is a motif derived from the Roman ritual of the joining of the right hands during the betrothal ceremony known as dextrarum iunctio. The right hand was considered to be sacred to Fides, the goddess of trust and good faith. The clasped hands as a symbol of love and marriage has continued in both the ceremony and rings through the centuries
  • A Late 18th Century Gold Mounted “Lover’s Eye” Miniature Brooch #bernardo The rectangular brooch centred with a glazed compartment depicting a painted miniature of a lady’s eye, frame with rocailles, approx. 3.5 x 2.8 cm, approx. 11.5 g One curious type of miniature was the “Lover’s Eye”, a subgenre of jewelry that was very popular during the Georgian era. For centuries, small personal portraits of a loved one had been common adornments in the costume of the time, but representations of that person’s eyes were something truly new. Wealthy people wore these charms on everything from rings to brooches to, of course, pendants. Lover’s eyes, often set in ivory plaques, were graceful and discreet. Presumably, only the wearer and the sitter knew the identity of the depicted lover, making the experience totally intimate and mysterious. The Prince of Wales is said to have given his wife, Mary Fitzherbert, a miniature of his right eye, they later separated, but when he died in 1830, they discovered that he was wearing a necklace with a padlock pendant near his heart with Fitzherbert’s eye inside. The places on the body where people wore them (on the wrist or near the heart) created a tactile and emotional connection that reflected the sentimental closeness between the subject and the wearer.

INSTAGRAM

  • A Late 16th Century Renaissance Ring In Solid 22k Yellow Gold Set with 8 table cut diamonds (approx. 1.5ct) #bernardo
  • Archaeological Revival Gold And Lily of the Valley Micromosaic Brooch/Pendant 1860’s #bernardo 18kt gold micromosaic-pendant, approx. 1860, circumferential wine leaves, centered oval micro mosaic on black ground, lily of the valley presentation, also wearable as a brooch, lug removable. Weight: 17.4 g Lenght: 7cm
  • 18th Century Gimmel Fede Gold Ring, Italian 1790’s #bernardo Romance and love are conveyed to the fullest in this sumptuous ring composed of symbolically rich elements: Fede hands, connected bands and hearth. Each element of this ring expresses love and affection, as well as the union of marriage. The clasped hands or ‘mani in fede’, is a motif derived from the Roman ritual of the joining of the right hands during the betrothal ceremony known as dextrarum iunctio. Messages of romantic love on jewelry, and mottoes or inscriptions on plain gold bands go back to the Middle Ages. Beginning in the thirteenth century, ring brooches and rings were given as love tokens and the language of love was expressed in words and amatory motifs. Each element of this ring expresses love and affection, as well as the union of marriage. The clasped hands or ‘mani in fede’ (Italian term for hands in faith), is a motif derived from the Roman ritual of the joining of the right hands during the betrothal ceremony known as dextrarum iunctio. The right hand was considered to be sacred to Fides, the goddess of trust and good faith. The clasped hands as a symbol of love and marriage has continued in both the ceremony and rings through the centuries
  • A Late 18th Century Gold Mounted “Lover’s Eye” Miniature Brooch #bernardo The rectangular brooch centred with a glazed compartment depicting a painted miniature of a lady’s eye, frame with rocailles, approx. 3.5 x 2.8 cm, approx. 11.5 g One curious type of miniature was the “Lover’s Eye”, a subgenre of jewelry that was very popular during the Georgian era. For centuries, small personal portraits of a loved one had been common adornments in the costume of the time, but representations of that person’s eyes were something truly new. Wealthy people wore these charms on everything from rings to brooches to, of course, pendants. Lover’s eyes, often set in ivory plaques, were graceful and discreet. Presumably, only the wearer and the sitter knew the identity of the depicted lover, making the experience totally intimate and mysterious. The Prince of Wales is said to have given his wife, Mary Fitzherbert, a miniature of his right eye, they later separated, but when he died in 1830, they discovered that he was wearing a necklace with a padlock pendant near his heart with Fitzherbert’s eye inside. The places on the body where people wore them (on the wrist or near the heart) created a tactile and emotional connection that reflected the sentimental closeness between the subject and the wearer.

SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe to receive updates, access to exclusive deals, and more.