Three quiet hours at my bench. A ring you make by hand and wear home.
I'm Sophie, a Roman goldsmith. I welcome you to my bench in Tormarancia, about twenty minutes from the centre on Metro B. Together, we use an Etruscan technique to shape your silver ring.
For two, you share one bench and make a single piece together, to keep between you. Silver is charged separately, by weight. A ring is a few grams.
We begin with a sketch of your ring. Then I guide you through shaping the silver, step by step, with time to find your own rhythm.
Then the silver. You cut it, file it, bring it to heat and curve. I guide you through each step. The technique is Etruscan, older than Rome itself, the craft the Romans learned from the people who came before them.
By the last hour it has stopped being metal. We bring it to a finish, and you walk back into Rome wearing the thing you made.
Ask me about your datesI have worked silver and gold in Rome for most of my life, and I teach Contemporary Jewellery at the Accademia di Moda Italiana.
But it is here, at the bench, that I do my favourite teaching. Our time at the bench is private: come on your own, or share one piece with someone you bring. Every step is hands-on and unhurried. I take you through the whole piece, from the first cut to the final polish.
Every piece here was made by a first-time student, in a single three-hour afternoon. No experience needed.
"Most things I bring back from a trip end up forgotten in a drawer. This ring I wear every day, because I made it myself, by hand, in Rome."
Marta · Lyon"I nearly spent that afternoon in another museum queue. Instead I was at Sophie's bench, learning to shape silver, and I left wearing a ring I had made. The best few hours of the trip."
John · Miami"I am not a maker, and I said so the moment I arrived. Sophie put the silver in my hands and stayed beside me through every step. Three hours later I walked back into Rome wearing something I had truly made."
Rose · LondonMy studio is in Tormarancia, a quiet corner of southern Rome, about twenty minutes from the centre on Metro B. Once your afternoon is booked, I will send you the exact address and simple directions to the door.
There is nothing you need to bring, and nothing to know beforehand. The tools and the bench are all here, and no experience is needed. Most people who come have never made anything by hand before.
There is nothing to pay in advance. You settle at the end, once your piece is finished and ready to wear home. And if your travel plans change, simply write to me and we will find another afternoon.
Yes, gladly. Bring a stone you love or silver with a story, and we will set it into the piece you make. Otherwise I provide the silver — the tools and the bench are always here.
The afternoon — the teaching, and my bench and tools — is €220 for one, €400 for two. The silver itself is charged separately, by weight, at the day's price per gram: you pay only for the grams your piece uses. A ring is usually a few grams. I weigh the silver with you at the end.
Yes. The whole three hours are yours, beside me, for you or the two of you sharing one bench and making one piece together.
Yes, and it is lovely for a couple or two friends. There is one bench, so the two of you make a single piece together: one shapes the silver while the other watches and learns, then you swap, with my hands guiding you both. You both put your hands to the metal, and you leave with one piece made side by side, to share. Just tell me when you write, so I can set the afternoon for two.
English or Italian, whichever you prefer. I teach in both.
Write to me with the days you are in Rome and I will hold the bench. There is nothing to pay in advance; you settle at the end of the afternoon.
The afternoon can be given as a gift: a private jewellery-making experience for someone you care about. A voucher for an afternoon at the bench, to be used whenever they are in Rome. For a birthday, an anniversary, or no reason at all.
Arrange a gift voucherTell me your Rome dates and whether you are coming alone or sharing the bench. I will reply with availability. We confirm your time together by message.
I welcome guests Monday to Friday. You can arrange your time before your Rome trip, with no prepayment.
Not on WhatsApp? Write to hello@creagioielli.it with the days you are in Rome.