In short. The Genesis is Settecinquanta’s collection inspired by the light of cathedrals: golden filigree that recalls the tracery of a rose window, and blue, green, red and aqua tones that echo stained glass. We tell its story starting from a place close to us, the Basilica of Santi Medici Cosma e Damiano in Alberobello, and from a question: how do you carry the light of a window onto a jewel?
From a window to a jewel
Step into a cathedral on a sunny day and you will see the floor fill with colour: light passes through the stained glass and breaks into patches of blue, red and green. The rose window, at the centre of the façade, is where this light settles into a perfect form, built around a centre.
The Genesis was born from this image. Each piece takes a fragment of that geometry — a petal, a sunburst, an arch — and makes it small enough to be worn.
The basilica of Alberobello
In Alberobello, a few steps from the trulli, the Basilica of Santi Medici Cosma e Damiano dominates the upper part of town with its stone façade and twin bell towers. It is one of the places we feature in the collection’s launch video: the point where, for us, the story of The Genesis begins.
It is not a copy of a building: it is a starting point. The shapes of the collection draw on the tradition of rose windows and stained glass in a broad sense, simplified so that they work on an earring or a cross.
Filigree and colour
Two elements define the collection:
- Golden filigree, a fine, openwork tracery that recalls the stone structure of a rose window or the lead that separates the panes of a stained-glass window.
- Colour, which fills the spaces in the tracery as glass fills a window: deep blue, emerald green, ruby red, aqua.
Up close you can read the details of the tracery; from a distance the whole shape emerges. It is the same double view you have in front of a stained-glass window.
The signature pieces
- Rose Window Earrings: a filigree drop with a coloured corolla at its centre, like a small rose window. Available in several colour variants.
- Squadrata Cross: a cross with clean lines, red inlays and golden tracery tracing its outline.
- Wave Earrings: a wavy filigree band dotted with small blue flowers.
- Primavera Ring: an open ring with pale blue and white flowers all along the band.
How to choose the colour
- Blue: the most classic, recalling the skies of medieval stained glass. It pairs easily with neutral tones and denim.
- Green: bright and natural, it suits warm skin tones and looks lovely with white.
- Red: the most intense colour, ideal for a cross or an evening earring.
- Aqua: the most delicate, for those who want an almost transparent touch of colour.
Materials, finishes and variants for each design are listed on the product page. If you are in Alberobello, at our shops in Via Brigata Regina 25 and Piazza Giuseppe di Vagno 3 you can compare the colours in person, in natural light.
Frequently asked questions
What inspired The Genesis collection?
The light of cathedrals: the tracery of rose windows and the colours of stained glass, reinterpreted in golden filigree and coloured detailing.
What is filigree in jewellery?
It is a fine, openwork tracery that creates a light pattern through which light can pass.
Which pieces are part of The Genesis?
Earrings, crosses, rings, pendants, necklaces and bracelets, including the Rose Window Earrings, the Squadrata Cross, the Wave Earrings and the Primavera Ring.
Where can I see the collection in person?
At the Settecinquanta shops in Alberobello, Via Brigata Regina 25 and Piazza Giuseppe di Vagno 3, or online at settecinquanta.com.
Sources and further reading
- Cathedral enamel in jewellery: light, colour and filigree.
- The Genesis collection: every piece, with materials and variants.
