Specialties
The Serra shop has always wanted to pay tribute to the city of Rome through its jewelry using original coins and engraved Roman stones (from the third century BC. to the fourth century AD.), as well as to the talented goldsmiths and artists who, 2000 and more years ago created works of unbelievable beauty and elegance. With this precious collection of Roman gems and coins, sometimes mounted in a classic way and other times refashioned with a more contemporary design, Serra has allowed these ancient artifacts to return to shine with a new light. The custom of encrusting coins to create jewelry is extremely ancient; its origins are to be found in the Greek world and the most widespread was in Rome between the first and third centuries AD. The Romans attributed a talismanic and amuletic power to the jewels thus made, giving the coin a much more complex task than that for which it was minted. As for glyptics, that is the "minute but not lesser" art of engraving precious and semi-precious stones (but also glass pastes), in Roman times it was widely used for rings, for men or women, necklaces, bracelets and earrings (it is famous the ring of Augustus in gold with black onyx, engraved with a Capricorn, symbol of the emperor's power). These rings with engraved gemstones were also frequently used as seals, impressing them on molten wax cast, placed to secure a document.
History
Established in 1910.
The Serra shop, born in Via del Corso in the first decade of the 1900, located today in the headquarters at n° 57 of the "magical" Via Margutta, offers an exciting and original combination of tradition and innovation. To begin the activity, in the first years of the '900, was Mario Serra that, taking advantage of his experience of traveler and attentive observer of the society of that time, began to acquire all that interesting and innovative could be there for his shop; it soon became the reference point of the high society of the time and the Real Casa supplier.
After Mario Serra, the management of the company passed first to Marcello, his son, then to his nephew, Alessandro with his wife Ornella. Alessandro creates new collections around engraved stones (roman intaglio) and Greek and Roman coins. Ornella designs and creates bijoux, using precious stones, ancient original Roman coins, small archaeological finds, silver plaques with mythological stories.
Meet the Business Owner: Ornella B.
After three generations today I am the administrator of the SERRA, that has its roots in the early 1900s. My passion for antiquity and history leads me to produce innovative jewelry using small antiques, original roman coins, engraved stones and small archaeological finds. The strong point of our company is to produce to satisfy the wishes of our customers.
