Vendorafa (pronounced VenDOrafa) is one of the hidden gems at the Vicenza jewelry fair, happening in Italy right now. This company epitomizes all that is great about the artistry and technical capabilities of the most important jewelry producing country in the world.
The brand is based in Valenza, the traditional goldsmithing district of this part of Italy, nestled in the countryside between Venice and Milan. The production process at Lombardi, the company that makes the Vendorafa brand, is highly technological, but the jewelry is diligently hand finished in a way that compares to the techniques used to make a couture dress or the métiers involved in finishing the dial of a beautiful timepiece.
Vendorafa is known for its hand working techniques, such as hammering, engraving and embossing. Working the metal by hand, along with the genius of the design is what gives the jewelry its added value, and this takes skilled craftsmen. Company CEO Augusto Ungarelli calls it “a factory of hands. The hammered finish is our signature,” he says, “and is what gives life to the gold. We don’t want to just transfer a design from the page to the product; we want there to be some tailored element to the piece.”
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