A private jewelry class in Rome
An afternoon at the bench of Sophie, a goldsmith who teaches at Rome’s Accademia di Moda Italiana. You shape a piece of silver by hand and wear it home the same day.
The goldsmith
I am Sophie. I have worked silver and gold in Rome for most of my life, and I teach Contemporary Jewelry at the Accademia di Moda Italiana.
But it is here, at the bench, that I do my favourite teaching. The Master Class is one student at a time, never a group of twenty, so every step is properly hands-on and unhurried. I take you through the whole piece, from the first cut to the final polish.
The afternoon
We begin with an espresso and a sketch. You decide what to make. More often, a ring. Sometimes earrings, or a pendant to wear close.
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.
A first afternoon
Every piece here was made by a first-time student, in a single three-hour class.
The maker’s hand
Pieces from years at the bench. Yours will be simpler, and entirely your own.
The class is €220, silver and materials included: everything your piece needs is covered. Three hours at the bench, one person at a time, and you take home what you make.
From the bench
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
Before you come
My studio is in Tormarancia, a quiet corner of southern Rome, about twenty minutes from the centre on Metro B. Once your class is booked, I will email 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 to the studio have never made anything by hand before.
There is nothing to pay in advance. You settle up at the end of the class, 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, to both. You may bring a stone of your own to set into your piece, or an old piece of your silver to melt down and remake into something new. Just tell me when you write, so I can have it ready.
No. The Master Class is taught privately, one student at a time, or two if you bring someone. Never a group, so every step stays properly hands-on.
English or Italian, whichever is easier for you.
To give
The Master Class can be given as a gift: a private jewelry-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.
Reserve
Write to me with the days you are in Rome, and I will hold the bench for you.
€220 the afternoon · €380 for two · either, as a gift voucher
Silver and materials included in the price of the class
You walk out wearing what you made