o Explores the complex nature of Italian jewelry and its various components Does jewelry have a specific definition? What expertise, disciplines or knowledge are required to produce it? Is it art, fashion or design? Is making it an industrial or a craft skill? The ambiguity arises from jewelry's ability to change what it symbolizes, its social value and how it is produced. It can be an investment or an amulet, durable goods or a fashion accessory, sculpture or an ornament, a single or mass-produced piece, and so on, a shining and varied weave of applications and purposes. Jewelry establishes connections between the outside world - the system of trade and commerce and social relations - and the more intimate world of the identity of every individual, their desires and dreams, their image.For the first time, this book analyzes the complex nature of Italian jewelry, considering its different components: from territory to design, from production to the market, from distribution to training, from the point-of-sale to communication, and the definition of new scenarios and new materials.