Faraone Mennella To Open Boutique in Capri
July 14, 2011 by The Briefer
Filed under Features, Style Setters
Congratulations to Faraone Mennella, who have just announced they will open a boutique in Capri. It will join New York and London as the places to find their exquisite jewelry. It also brings the New York-based, Italian team of Amadeo Scognamiglio and Roberto Faraone Mennella back to Italy and the source of their inspiration.
The island of Capri’s resort status dates back to the Roman Republic. Today, from mid-April to mid-October, Capri is home to the world’s most beautiful people enjoying one of the world’s most incredible natural landscapes. The island offers the best of water sports, climbing, concerts, fine dining and luxury shopping.
In a 2010 interview with the Jewelry Brief, the design team of Faraone Mennella listed Capri as a source for their creative inspiration. It is only fitting that they will open their latest boutique on the island. Faraone Mennella produces bold, yet elegant and feminine jewelry that will no doubt join the timeless creations of a select few jewelry houses.
Check out the full interview: Style Setters: The Jewelry Brief Interviews Faraone Mennella
The Jewelry Brief Style Setters 2010: Thank you for a great year!
December 14, 2010 by The Briefer
Filed under Features, Jewelry Lifestyle, Style Setters
As 2010 draws to a close I would like to thank some the many people who made this year of briefs current, informative and witty.
A big thank you to the Style Setters, who took time out of busy schedules to share their creative inspirations and insights.
Many thanks:
Roberto Faraone Menella and Amedeo Scognamiglio of Faraone Menella
Banafseh Fatooriechie and Maryam Sardi of Faso
Thank you to Jen Cullen, Joseph DePalma & Michael Perret for always thinking of me.
And a special thank you to Gail Brett Levine, Executive Director of the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers, for her constant encouragement.
And finally, to my biggest fan, my sister, Merry Christmas.
To all of my readers, I wish you the happiest of holidays & all the best for 2011.
April
Style Setters: The Jewelry Brief Interviews Faraone Mennella
July 20, 2010 by The Briefer
Filed under Features, Jewelry Trends, Recommended Past Briefs, Style Setters
This is the first post of a “Style Setters” series brought to you by The Jewelry Brief. In each post of the series, the Brief will reach out to the creative minds behind today’s best jewelry, and ask the about their inspiration, style and influences.
Faraone Mennella by R.F.M.A.S. was founded in New York City in 2001 by two longtime friends, Roberto Faraone Mennella and Amedeo Scognamiglio, who moved to the United States to further their professional design interests after growing up in Italy surrounded by art and beauty. Faraone Mennella by R.F.M.A.S. produces jewelry of timeless style and elegance for every woman, from collections sold at major retailers to one-of-a-kind jewelry couture featured on the large and small screen made for some of the world’s most glamorous women.
Their complete collections can be viewed at www.rfmas.com
A while back, Amedeo sent me a thank you e-mail for a post that I had written about Faraone Mennella earlier this year. Amedeo and Roberto graciously agreed to answer a few questions for The Jewelry Brief, reaffirming once again my belief that the world is small and people are kind.
What is the source for your design inspiration?
We like to think of ourselves as “artisans” of the jewelry design, so while we draw inspiration from many sources (Capri, the 60′s Dolce Vita, Romy Schneider…) we are mostly driven by the beauty of creation. The “bench” is our main source. It drives our work.
Is there a secret to your contemporary yet timeless style?
The secret is staying focused on the message: We want our pieces to be a beautiful adornment for women, constructed with elegance. Classic is discreet, when jewelers conceptualize too much they get lost in the process.
Who has had the greatest influence on your life?
Our grandmothers: Augusta (for Amedeo) and Stella (for Roberto).
What do you love most about what you do?
When a woman stops us in a restaurant to say she loves our work and that she gets compliments every time she wears our pieces. That is the ultimate goal, the look on that face. 
What is the greatest luxury that you treat yourself to?
Luxury is quite an overrated word nowadays, and overused. To us luxury is a not repeatable “experience”. Having dinner with friends on my terrace, overlooking the Capri’s marina and the entire bay of Naples in Summer, is priceless.
Aquamarine: Classic Beauty
March 2, 2010 by The Briefer
Filed under Features, Jewelry Trends
With its “sea blue” color, large size and often flawless interior the aquamarine has been treasured by jewelry designers throughout the 20th Century. The aquamarine is found in a range of beautiful pale blues to a strong greenish-blue, hence its name. It is in the beryl family, which is the same family as the emerald, but aquamarines are generally free of eye visible inclusions and and it is not uncommon to find them in sizes of 10 carats or larger. It has a relatively good hardness for jewelry of 7.5 to 8 on the Moh’s scale for hardness, the diamond scores a 10.
Old tradition promises the wearer of aquamarine joy and wealth. Whether you believe this to be true or not it is a joy to wear such a beautiful stone: perhaps framed by diamonds in an Edwardian brooch, featured in a Retro rose gold cocktail ring, or set in a contemporary necklace by Faraone Mennella with alternating pink tourmalines with diamond accents.
Aquamarine is the birthstone for the month of March.
Faraone Mennella: From Italy with Glamour
February 23, 2010 by The Briefer
Filed under Features, Jewelry Lifestyle
The jewelry of the Italian duo of Robert Faraone Mennella and Amedeo Scognamiglio has been catching my eye every where recently. Designing under the name of Faraone Mennella, the firm produces bold, yet feminine jewelry that will join the timeless creations of many famous jewelry houses.
Their collection is cohesive; the prominent style is larger, glamorous pieces using warm and often muted colors. Their style is very reminiscent of what I love best from Seaman Schepps. The collection also features many interesting fancy link chains, often incorporating links of different hard stones. The pieces that I am most drawn to feature large cabochon cut stones, stones cut in a highly polished convex form not faceted, in wonderful color juxtapositions. Faraone Mennella’s latest ad campaign, which can be seen on their website and in many publications, features a flower motif necklace and a “fringe” necklace, both stellar examples of this style.
