It’s impossible to walk along via de’ Ginori and not be enticed into Silvia Franciosi’s Falsi Gioielli jewelry shop. Draped every which way with shiny pearls, iridescent plexiglass pendants and fabric flower necklaces, the warm and welcoming store front beckons you inside with its creative cabinet of curiosities.
Falsi Gioielli, via de’ Ginori
Silvia and her team have been crafting “fake” jewelry in a smorgasbord of materials since the workroom’s founding (just three square metres!) in the Oltrarno in 1986. Self-taught, Silvia’s quest has always been to create “something less baroque and more geometric, a sort of anti-jewelry with totally out of the ordinary shapes and fluorescent colors.” The magic happens in a small workspace in the rear of the brilliant white boutique with its parquet flooring.
Reader Mary Jane Jacques, who’s sponsoring this article to help a favorite local business in Italy from across the ocean in Greenville, South Carolina, remembers the first time she stepped foot into Falsi Gioielli. “I first discovered this little shop in 2005 (same year as the birth of The Florentine!) with its plexiglass, fabric, buttons, thread, leather and various other materials, and I’ve returned every spring on my annual visit to Florence.”
Plexiglass gems
“Silvia, Mauro and their assistants became friends, and as Mauro quips, they don’t need a calendar, they know it’s May when I pop in the door! We go to a nearby bar for a coffee, chat about life in the US and Italy, catching up on the all of the news. I’ve sent many friends to the shop, and it’s no surprise that they have found it to be a fun and interesting treasure trove of distinctive jewelry.”
The easy-to-wear selections created at Falsi Gioielli are bright, colorful and original—don’t be surprised if you go in to buy a gift for a friend and come away with a piece or two for yourself. That’s the truth of these “false jewels” from Florence.
Falsi Gioielli
Via de’ Ginori 34R
055 287237
falsigioielli@gmail.com
FB: @falsigioiellifirenze / IG: @falsigioielli
This article is sponsored by reader Mary Jane Jacques (Greenville, South Carolina)
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