One factor distinguishing Australian jeweler Denise Copp from her colleagues is that she cuts the gems for her pieces herself. (It’s not usually a given that a jeweler can lay claim to the title of “stonecutter”, too).
The real kicker, though, is that she also talks to the stones, which are sourced from all over the world, then lovingly handled and re-handled as her pieces come to fruition. It’s simply an act of caring, all part and parcel of the creative process, Denise says.
Denise has recently opened her first brick-and-mortar jewelry shop on Santa Croce side street via Matteo Palmieri—a “hidden gem” in the truest sense of the term. Dressed up with sparkling rings in the windows, a Saturn-inspired chandelier and a shop dog named Olly, DC Artisan Jeweler is a one-stop outfit for anyone seeking tasteful bling from a one-woman show. A curtain currently conceals what will soon be her workshop—as the store is in its first month, Denise is still in the process of moving her workbench, stones and supplies from her family home in Florence to her new headquarters. “They’re heavy,” she says with a laugh.
Denise’s interest in stonecutting really took shape when she joined in a lapidary club in Australia after a long career in photography. (Aware of how formative this club was for her own path, she now offers courses in the art of lapidary to Florence students—in both express and extended versions.) But her love for gems and jewelry stretches back to childhood: “My family would go on holidays to the opal fields and I’d pick them up straight off the ground,” she said, remembering a bag full of the gems that she kept in her home until losing it in a move at age 21.
Her customers today will find oodles of opals in her wide range of rings, pendants, necklaces, earrings and more—but also white golds, sapphires, rubies, aquamarines and beyond. The in-store selection doesn’t stop with jewelry, though: Denise also crafts custom knives and gemstone wine stoppers, as well as stand-alone stones that can be shaped to suit a client’s tastes; you need only talk to her. (She’ll take care of the gems—and make sure they have their say, too.)
DC Artisan Jeweler
Via Matteo Palmieri 20r
