We have been admiring the well-crafted crystal and gold-plated bronze art from HF Home Jewels for almost a year, after first discovering several mesmerizing pieces at B. David Levine’s showstopper dining room at the 2024 Pasadena Showcase House.

These uniquely crafted, delicately constructed adornments are Italian jewels in and of themselves and represent centuries-old artistry. Once you begin to understand how these treasures are expertly crafted, you will quickly appreciate why they are so highly valued by knowledgeable investors.

We were fortunate to sit down with Home Jewels’ Brand Ambassador, Andrea Polizzi, during his recent excursion to Los Angeles, to learn about his company, their craft and the cultural significance of these exquisite products.

What we learned leads us to believe that the luxury Italian home décor market is undervalued — here’s why.

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The Mission of HF Home Jewels

Designing a home that speaks to who you are is often extremely difficult, as we are complex human beings. A home should be a reflection of its residents in terms of style, taste, personality, objets d’art, and most importantly, one’s life experiences.

HF Home Jewels crystal bowl featured in the 2024 Pasadena Showcase House by B. David Levine

An HF Home Jewels crystal bowl featured in the dining room in 2024 Pasadena Showcase House. Room designed by B. David Levine

Setting the right mood is essential, as this will be expressed to all who enter. Personal décor can tell unique stories that are often part of a generational history with focus on a few special pieces that convey how a person’s life has been shaped.

Exceptional luxury décor brands are able to fulfill this need for beauty that is substantive, long-lasting, and personally meaningful.

Enter HF Home Jewels, an Italian luxury décor brand whose work, and initials HF, exemplify the cultural movement of Homo Faber (HF) (literal translation: “Man of the Maker”). The firm derives inspiration from Homo Faber as a means to focus on sustaining creative artistry and centuries-old artisan skills for posterity.

HF Home Jewels gold logo, Florence, Italy

Preserving ancient crafts, by fostering and reinvigorating interests — a re-renaissance, if you will — is the main purpose of the brand. Homo Faber is the concept that human beings are able to control their fate and their environment through the skillful and brave use of their hands and masterfully controlled tools.

Home Jewels is the brand name of the firm’s line of original works that consists of:
Jewel Clocks; Jewel Boxes; Vases & Cups; Jewel Lighting; Jewel Furniture; Perfume Bottles; Custom Pieces; and more.

Details of HF Home Jewels Sultan of Light Crystal Sherazade Clock

Details of HF Home Jewels Sultan of Light Crystal Sherazade Clock

Home Jewels pieces are the result of a conservation effort to propagate the creation of unique, complex art through age-old techniques and knowledge. Using the highest quality standards, artisans at HF Home Jewels customize each piece to insure a one-of-a kind — in some cases limited edition — investment that will last for generations.

HF Home Jewels crystal objets d'art displayed at the B. David Levine LA Showroom

HF Home Jewels crystal objets d’art stylishly displayed at the B. David Levine LA Showroom

 

HF Home Jewels: Artistic Culture, Process & Techniques

Artisans at Home Jewels are respectfully referred to as Demiurgos — from ancient Greek, meaning “free artisans” or “free craftsmen”. These accomplished heirs of centuries-old vocational culture seamlessly blend intuition, knowledge and techniques, while working with unforgiving materials, tools and methods, such as: bronze fusion; glassblowing; crystal cutting; hand-chiseled stone and metal; and painstaking finishing touches.

HF Home Jewels artisan at work, sharpening edges and lines with chisel of their Peacock clock

Artisan at work, sharpening the edges of HF Home Jewels’ Peacock clock

Polizzi proudly asserted that their artisans have “the ability to think with their hands and measure with their eyes”. He added that these intuitive skills were once possessed by our grandparents’ generation out of necessity, which is no longer the case today, sadly due to the ubiquity of technology.

HF Home Jewels is an expert in the ancient art of wax casting, also known as lost wax casting. This method of metal casting relies on intricate wax molds to create highly ornate metal objects that can be further refined into stellar pieces such as art, décor and jewelry.

HF Home Jewels artisan carving a wax peacock

HF Home Jewels artisan carving a wax peacock

What follows is an overview of the painstaking process of creating just one highly ornate piece of gold-plated metal using the wax casting process:

  • Inject hot wax into a given mold
  • Let the wax harden as it cools
  • Clean, trim and prep the intricate wax figurine for next steps
  • Assemble/solder multi-piece objects together (when necessary)
  • Place prepped wax pieces delicately into a large wrapped cylinder
  • Pour hot, chalky gesso over wax pieces into the cylinder (letting air to escape)
  • Place the cylinder into an oven for the gesso to harden and the melted wax to drain out
  • Heat the gesso-filled cylinder at a higher temperature to harden the gesso further
  • Heat to liquefy the bronze
  • Pour liquefied hot bronze into the gesso mold (letting air to escape)
  • Let bronze cool
  • Work on the cooled bronze piece (hammer, chisel, polish, detail, prep for connections)
  • Refinish the bronze piece with 24k gold
  • Prepare additional connection joints

B. David Levine provides an instructive overview of the magical processes that take place in the HF Home Jewels artisan workshop in Florence, Italy, in the video below:

B. David Levine Tour of HF Home Jewels Artisan Workshop in Florence, Italy

The process of bringing multiple pieces and components of an integrated piece of art can include the following steps:

  • Solder/weld separate parts together
  • Refinish any remaining imperfections with 24k gold
  • Add finishing details (e.g. color, jewels, stone pieces, etc.)
  • Slice pieces of malachite to create part of the platform
  • Connect and finish malachite platform (sanding, adhesive, etc.)
  • Combine the final parts of the work (e.g. drawer, arch, decorative items, etc.)

Here’s a quick video overview, created by HF Home Jewels, that gives a behind-the-scenes look at their miraculous artisanal processes and skills:

HF Home Jewels: The Making of an Exquisite Peacock Clock

HF Home Jewels also creates incredible crystal art pieces by blowing glass inside a corresponding mold and later adding highly intricate cuts – all performed by hand.

Hand-made crystal being made in the HF Home Jewels artisan workshop in Florence, Italy

Hand-made crystal being made in the HF Home Jewels artisan workshop in Florence, Italy

Best-in-class speciality design firms, such as HF Home Jewels, also rely on “stealthy” partnerships with other high-quality-minded industry partners, which is essential to make unparalleled works of art. HF Home Jewels does what they do best in-house, while partnering with other exceptional firms for absolute excellence in every aspect of their products.

 

What Art Investors Should Know about Italian Investment Décor

When thinking of Italian décor, we admire Italy’s primary approach to sustainability as confidently “building products that last”!

HF Home Jewels crystal display at B. David Levine LA Showroom

HF Home Jewels crystal objets d’art displayed at the B. David Levine LA Showroom

We also respect Italy’s worldwide design reputation, which is distinguished by quality materials, high attention to details and a well-deserved pride in their rich artistic cultural heritage.

That said, curating the right décor pieces for your home requires that you appreciate the value of unique craftsmanship, techniques and artistry, as buying home décor as an art investment can be both enjoyable and rewarding.

Since valuable pieces are likely to appreciate over time, it is important to look for art and décor with historical, cultural and artistic significance, and to choose timeless pieces over modern ones. Historically speaking, timeless pieces retain their value far more than the fleeting trends of modern styles.

Blend Aesthetics with Value

Make sure to diversify your collection by purchasing a mix of styles, artists or materials that add complementary value to other décor in your home.  Choose pieces that mesh well with your home’s style, while purchasing standout art investments for key focal points of your home.

HF Home Jewels crystal accessories featured in the dining room of the 2024 Pasadena Showcase House. Room designed by B. David Levine

HF Home Jewels crystal accessories featured in the dining room of the 2024 Pasadena Showcase House. Room designed by B. David Levine

Always choose objects constructed of high quality materials and methods, as this will ensure the longevity, durability and value of your investment over time.

Consider Provenance and Authenticity

When choosing investment décor always consider provenance and authenticity by purchasing from an authorized, reputable source.  It is important to steer clear from mass produced items, as limited editions and original works, with certificates of authenticity or artist’s signatures, are intrinsically more valuable.

B. David Levine Los Angeles showroom on La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood

View of the spectacular B. David Levine showroom in Los Angeles

We highly recommend working with curators that know their suppliers well. For example, experienced luxury designers, such as B. David Levine, understand the important responsibility for resellers to visit the factories of any luxury brand they wish to resell.

David Levine’s showroom, located in Los Angeles, is a terrific example of how consumers can discover trusted Italian treasures for their homes. Levine began investigating the Italian luxury market many years ago out of necessity.

Over several years, he was seeing his highest-quality specialty suppliers leave the LA market, without viable options filling their void. All signs of high-quality, innovation in the luxury home furnishings and décor space led Levine to Italy.

HF Home Jewels Limited-Edition Peacock Clock revealed at the B. David Levine LA Showroom

HF Home Jewels Limited-Edition Peacock Clock revealed at the B. David Levine LA Showroom

Levine shared with us that best-in-class manufacturers, such as HF Home Jewels, are transparent with their industry partners by demonstrating their methods and commitment to high quality standards. Lesser Italian brands are known to cut corners, such as having significant components manufactured outside of Italy, with the final product (e.g. furniture) assembled within their Italian plant. Levine adamantly believes in the adage of “seeing is believing”!

Engage Expert Advice

We suggest consulting an art expert before any purchase to appraise and evaluate any potential acquisition.

By blending artistic appeal with due diligence, you can curate a home décor collection that brings beauty to your space and potential value to your investment portfolio.

 

The Need for a Second Italian Renaissance

A universal rule of smart investing is acquiring rare assets.

Unfortunately, what makes unique art pieces, such as Home Jewels, intrinsically valuable (rarified skills, processes and raw materials), puts the underlying, delicate “Italian Keiretsu” of essential one-of-a-kind partners at great risk.

Kindred spirits B. David Levine and Andrea Polizzi share passion for luxury Italian decor with an audience at the B. David Levine LA Showroom

Kindred spirits B. David Levine and Andrea Polizzi share their passion for luxury Italian décor with an audience at the B. David Levine LA Showroom

The interconnected, mutually dependent system of unparalleled suppliers of miraculous components need each other not only to thrive, but also to survive. The closing of one supplier puts all existing partners in great peril, as these capabilities cannot be easily substituted — if at all! A myriad of Italian businesses have been closing over recent years, and with them, the world is at risk of losing irreplaceable cultural assets and capabilities.

Contemplating the extinction of peerless makers of artistic masterpieces is a depressing thought, indeed. However, prevailing economic risks paradoxically make luxury Italian décor an even more attractive “buy”.

A rallying call needs to be made to ignite a 2nd Italian Renaissance. The spirit of a new Italian Renaissance needs to focus of the following intertwined challenges and opportunities:

 

Preservation

Many specialty Italian firms in the home furnishings space need capital infusion, as well as new product-extensions, to prevent imminent closures. This need represents a tremendous opportunity for innovative luxury goods manufacturers around the globe.

Numerous acquisitions have been happening over recent years, but we hope financially weakened firms with one-of-a-kind capabilities and rare craftspersons are given special consideration.

Haworth, a Michigan-based office furniture manufacturer, has been leading the way in acquiring Italian home furnishing assets. The firm began acquiring Italian-furnishings companies with the acquisition of Poltrona Frau Group in 2014.

Here are highlights of Haworth’s major acquisitions of Italian firms over recent years:

  • Zanotta  (2023 by Cassina of Poltrona Frau Group)
  • Cappellini (2021)
  • Luxury Living Group (2018 by Poltrona Frau Group)
  • JANUS et Cie (2016 by Poltrona Frau Group)
  • Poltrona Frau Group (Haworth acquired a majority stake in 2014)
  • Cassina (2005 by Poltrona Frau Group)

In December, 2023, Haworth also signed a strategic partnership with Ralph Lauren Corp. to expand the production and distribution of Ralph Lauren’s Italian-made furniture.

 

Knowledge Transfer

A pressing need for specialty Italian home goods firms, such as Home Jewels, is to recruit and train the next generation of highly skilled, passionate craftspersons. According to Polizzi, the transfer of requisite skills is getting worse:

“It can take between 4 and 5 years for a chiseler to become sufficiently skilled for our quality of products”.

We know that the challenges of recruiting and training are not just limited to Italy or industries that rely on virtuoso artisans. For example, the U.S. home improvement/construction industry has been facing a similar labor challenge of diminishing numbers of persons entering the trades, while increasing numbers of highly knowledgeable and experienced “trade sages” retire from their professions each year.

Grabbing set bronze mold in HF Home Jewels artisan workshop

Bronze mold being removed from oven in the HF Home Jewels artisan workshop in Florence, Italy

This international void, however, represents a vast opportunity for younger workers, as well as those seeking new callings better aligned with their abilities and interests.  Those wanting a challenging and fulfilling profession can discover vocations that will allow them to: pursue creative avenues; work with their hands; interact with others; produce art that will outlive themselves; and still use new technology and tools, as needed.

HF Home Jewels artisan welder working on a peacock clock

HF Home Jewels artisan welder working on a peacock clock

Polizzi added this insightful perspective on an intangible benefit that these types of professions offer:

“A reward of solving worthy problems is the natural release of endorphins, which is a terrific counter to rising depression levels”.

We are optimistic that a growing number of workers will willingly start fleeing the alternative of staring at an impersonal computer screen for over eight hours a day. If Italy lacks the raw numbers of candidates, they need to start recruiting “international kindred spirits” for the “2nd Italian Renaissance”— immediately!

 

Cross-Pollination

Specialty Italian home goods manufacturers, ideally with the assistance of their government, need to promote the capabilities of their vital, “uniquely gifted” supply chain partners, with the goal of strengthening their weakest links. By “weakest”, we mean partners that need a broader, diverse array of customers to protect themselves from unrecoverable economic setbacks.

In particular, we would encourage aggressive international explorations, as there could be a wide range of complimentary needs met: untapped consumer markets; transferable labor markets; capital infusion; knowledge transfer; cultural product extensions; etc.

A recent example of a creatively synergistic venture is Ardray Whisky — a partnership between passionate Scottish and Japanese interests.

After our recent in-person introduction, we described this partnership as:

A mutually reverential collaboration of Japan’s Suntory blending expertise with Scotland’s Scotch making heritage, Ardray proves once again that Japan‘s truly exceptional art is that of refining existing products.

Japan could be a great strategic partner for luxury Italian manufacturers, as well, as both cultures have a deep appreciation for high-quality design and craftsmanship, aligning well with Italian luxury goods.

Japan has expertise in numerous complimentary craft areas that would be valuable to Italian manufacturers, as well, such as: ceramics and pottery; sword making; lacquerware; gold leaf crafting; and metalwork.

Italy could also learn from Japan’s unique approach to apprenticeships where skills are passed from master to disciple, ensuring the preservation and evolution of revered cultural arts.

 

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