Jewelry News

Diary From Italy: Anna Maccieri Rossi

The jewelry designer tells us about life under quarantine

by Guest Contributor

I live in Santarcangelo Di Romagna, a beautiful and very characteristic Italian town, close to Rimini, in Emilia Romagna. Under normal circumstances, I travel a lot for my work, to Florence, Milan, to Geneva, Paris and New York, but then I always love to come back here, in this artistic and cheerful place.

This is one of the many areas affected by the Coronavirus in Italy. The streets of all Italy are empty now. Nobody, can leave their homes, only for food and medicines. Everything is closed, all the shops, all the companies are closed.

There’s no more chatting in the coffee bars or on the corners. Santarcangelo is known for the joy of people who live here, for the exquisite food and typical products, for its lifestyle. When I look out of my window, this feeling is just a memory. There’s such an incredible silence out there.

Our isolation started on the first week of March and since that time we have been at home.

Today is day 26 and now Italy is not the only one affected.

What it is going on is new, terrible, so unreal for everybody, in all the world.

It is dramatic and sad.

Humanity is suffering in this moment and I can’t close my eyes, it is in front of us.

We are all affected, we are all part of this drama.

Only one month ago, it seemed to be so faraway, nobody could have imagined that in such a fast way, from one day to the next, this virus could have affected all of us.

All my admiration and love goes to the doctors, the nurses, all the people who work in the hospital and try to help. I have some close friends at the hospital, in Milan, and my thoughts go to everybody fighting against this virus.

What I can do from here is to stay home and try to stay positive and strong.

I have two kids, 6 and 8 years old, and I feel I must be optimistic, for them, for me.

I feel I have to be an example, especially now.

I am trying to pay attention on the positive aspects that this “quarantine” offers.

I feel very lucky to stay home with my family, with my husband Roberto and my two kids Riccardo and Anita. Their love makes wake up everyday with a sense of gratitude and awareness. I realized that in the last year I have always been so busy with my job that I was going to miss a lot of things. This is the moment to get off of that fast train. It is the moment to wake up and look at things from another point of view.

The truth is that our world, as we knew it, seemed  untouchable and invincible for us.

It is so hard to question certainties and your conviction.

And now that everything around us stopped, I feel we shouldn’t give up.

I feel we should go ahead, but in a new way, with a different awareness. I feel we should change, together.  This crisis could represent  for us an opportunity to change.

I am using this time as a new one, a new chapter of our life. Time to think, study, to understand, to eat, to stay with my dears. Time to enjoy, cook, to write, Time to be creative.

Time to hope and dream a better future, more responsible, where people will be united after this big crisis. Time to imagine new solutions. Time to love our planet.

Time to take care about our lives.

For too long I had the feeling of “having to do, having to go, having…” and I feel it’s time to redesign our priorities and dedicate ourselves to what’s really important.

My days now flow in a very simple way. In the morning I wake up as always before everyone, around 5:30 or 600 am and I draw, I put my ideas on paper, I write. It’s my moment while everyone is asleep. These are my golden hours, those in which I have the best ideas.

Then the “rumba” begins! The children wake up and after breakfast school starts. I found out i was pretty good as a teacher! We have a lot of homework everyday and it’s not easy to organize all the lessons but we try… we try hard!

My husband and I really like cooking and it’s a good time to experiment with new dishes and have fun with the children… we love eating ..I mean, we are Italian!

No day ends without being told that we love each other and for me and Roberto…having some good wine, we like a lot pinot noir.

Thinking about my work, I have a background as senior watch designer and all my work is deeply inspired by the theme of Time.

I have been working for more that 15 years for brands as Jaeger Le-Coultre, Cartier, Bulgari, Tiffany & Co watches, Ferragamo and I am still making consulting as watch senior designer.

Time is the common thread for all my collections and it is the concept that drives me now to my new ideas.

I am working at the moment to my new collection called “Carpe Diem,” Seize the Day!  It is a jewel (pendant and ring) equipped with a watch movement inside that allows the little star, at the center, to move every second, to remind that Time is precious and we should be aware of it.  It is a small animation, but it translates a very strong message.

No moment, better than this, could express this concept so deeply and truly. We have to learn to take care of our lives and our Earth. We have to open our eyes and start not to give anything for granted. Time is precious.

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