126 - MICHELETTO: A DIAMOND CHAIN RING, CIRCA 1960 The flexible band designed as a series of articulated interlocking gourmette curb-links, alternatively pavé-set with brilliant-cut diamonds, mounted in 18K yellow and white gold, Italian registry mark for Micheletto between ‘1944-1968’, ring size N½

MICHELETTO: A DIAMOND CHAIN RING, CIRCA 1960 The flexible band designed as a series of articulated interlocking gourmette curb-links, alternatively pavé-set with brilliant-cut diamonds, mounted in 18K yellow and white gold, Italian registry mark for Micheletto between ‘1944-1968’, ring size N½ Condition Report: Diamonds: bright and lively Stamped 750 for 18K gold Normal signs of wear, overall in good condition Total gross weight approx. 10g Founded in Milan at the turn of the twentieth century, Micheletto is among Italy’s oldest jewellery manufacturers still active today, and the city’s very first manufacturing company registered with the historic maker’s mark 10 MI, granted to it in 1920. Its origins trace back to the late nineteenth century, when the Locatelli and Canevari families established a distinguished goldsmith workshop. he firm later entered a new chapter when Emilio Micheletto, who had married Enrico Locatelli’s daughter, acquired the business and transformed it into a flourishing maison. Under his leadership, the company expanded rapidly, employing over a hundred craftsmen. Over the course of its history, Micheletto also produced jewellery for prestigious houses including Van Cleef & Arpels and Tiffany & Co. Combining Milanese dynamism with artisanal rigour, Micheletto soon became known for jewels of impeccable hand-finishing, distinguished by clean lines and a refined sense of proportion. In the post-war decades, the firm continued to evolve, uniting craftsmanship and innovation, culminating in the 1970s and ’80s under Olivo Micheletto with the invention of the extrusion-tube process, a technical advancement that revolutionised goldsmithing and fuelled the house’s expansion into the American market. During these years, Micheletto jewels graced figures such as Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Collins and Princess Diana, embodying an understated glamour and excellence. Today, under the direction of Roberta Micheletto, the third generation, the maison continues to craft each jewel by hand in its Milan atelier, now located on Via Curatone 13 in Milan, not far from the original location of the very first workshop where the Micheletto story began.