The jewelry pieces I bought in Europe as souvenirs

Out of all the places we have visited, without a doubt in my mind, Italy has had the best merchandise to buy when it comes to souvenirs and not only. With a wide variety of artists and things Italy is famous for, there's something for everyone to take home, as a small part of the country.

On our travels, I tried to buy a piece of jewelry from each country or even city we visited, as a way to memorize them. I ensured that every piece was made, at the very least in the country we were visiting, to make it authentic. We avoided many pretty souvenirs and things for the simple fact that they were made in other countries, therefore, unauthentic to me.

When deciding on what to buy for myself, I looked for pieces with long-standing traditions when it comes to their "manufacturing", selecting only the ones that have a story to tell, either on how they are made, or pieces that have a special meaning for me.

I opened this post speaking of Italy as I think it has one of the richest cultures and traditions in manufacturing, starting with the famous Italian ceramics, all the way to the delicate silk pieces.

While I did get some beautiful silk scarves that have become some of my most treasured accessories, I wanted to share the jewelry I bought while there, as well as the pieces I bought from other countries that have beautiful stories behind them.

One of the cities we visited, which now has a special place in my heart is Florence, Italy.

Florence is famous for its leather and with good reason: never in my life have I seen so much leather anywhere else. I wanted to remember this place in the most authentic way possible: with a leather bracelet (worn here), that has the symbol of Florence - the lily of Florence or the Giglio or giaggiolo. It is a symbol that you'll find across the city, on buildings, and even pavements. I bought this bracelet (1st photo) in a small shop Luciano's Leather Factory in Piazza di Santa Croce (The Square of the Saint Cross, if I may try to translate). I can say that I have never found an exact-looking bracelet in any other place we visited or even online but the closest to it is this and this from Scuola del Cuoio (Leather School), which is a very popular shop/"factory" in Florence.

Another "art" that Italy is famous for is the Murano Glass, also known as the Venetian Glass. It's called this way because it is made in the Venice region, on the island of Murano. The stunning pieces are handcrafted through a fascinating glassblowing process.

We have not been to Venice or Murano Island yet, but we found Murano glass in Rome as well as Florence, the cities we visited in Italy so far.

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While the products range widely from jewelry to vases to chandeliers, I stuck with small pieces due to, surprise! luggage restrictions. In Rome, I bought this Murano glass watch above. While they say that no two pieces are alike due to being handmade, I found a very similar one here.

In Florence, we came across another Murano glass shop while leisurely walking and I think we ended up spending more than an hour there. Alvise Giustinian advertises as selling chandeliers but we found almost anything you could think of in his small store. I chose for myself these two unique adjustable rings that again, I was not able to find somewhere else. I have, however, found a variety of Murano glass pieces here, if you wish to shop some gorgeous pieces for yourself.

While I did not buy any jewelry in London or Paris, I did find this amazing bracelet below in Edinburgh, Scotland. The story of how these are made instantly drew me, and I chose these colors that have a personal significance.

The gem you see in this bracelet is called a heather gem and is made of actual heather stems from Scotland. The heather is collected, cut, cleaned, dyed, and pressed together to form blocks. Once the blocks are ready, they are cut into different shapes and pieces that are further perfected and lacquered to become the jewelry we see. To discover this process in more detail, read about it here.

Since Scotland has reserved a special place in my heart as well, I wanted to have something from there that can remind me of it, so this bracelet had to be it.

The last place I bought a piece of jewelry from was Greece. Athens, Greece was somewhat of a whirlwind for us and yes, this country has also won me over.

From the myriad of beautifully handcrafted souvenirs, aside from a few other things, I chose a scarf with a Greek motif, and this gorgeous to me marble + olive wood ring.

If you follow me on Instagram, while we were in Greece, I was sharing on Insta-stories all the olive trees we came across. I can't explain my fascination with olives but I simply love them, trees and fruits and all. And also, since Athens is basically made of marble (well, at least the Acropolis is), this ring was the best way to incorporate both "symbols" of this country.

On our last day there, while looking for souvenirs, we stumbled upon a shop that was selling all sorts of things made from the wood of olive trees. The shop smelled DIVINE (like fresh olive oil) but sadly, we couldn't buy anything from there, since we had very limited luggage room and the things we liked were either too big, too heavy, or had an awkward shape. Disappointed, we left the shop and kept walking when we found this ring and so, I took a piece of Greece with me back home.

Do you also buy jewelry to remind you of your travels?

Until next time.
XOXO,
Em