Michele della Valle

Michele della Valle is an Italian jeweller known for his bold use of colour and imaginative natural designs. Born in Rome, he began working with gemstones in the 1970s after an early trip to Burma, later gaining experience at Fürst Jewellers before opening his own workshop near the Piazza di Spagna in 1978. His designs often draw on natural imagery such as feathers, flowers, and fruit using contrast or shading of gemstone colours to make bold jewellery. For della Valle, the gemstone informs the design rather than the other way around. His work reflects a blend of technical precision, artistic curiosity, and a lifelong fascination with gemstones. In Understanding Jewellery he designs were said to have 'an extremely varied palette... and (to be) often amusing' (p.452).