Ippolita was born and raised in the hills above Florence, Italy. She is
the daughter of an American artist mother and an Italian intellectual and
spent her childhood immersed in Renaissance art and architecture,
eventually earning her Baccalaureate in sculpture at the renowned
Istituto D’Arte in Florence Ippolita’s committment to design integrity and
craftmanship is evident in everything she creates.

Before launching her 18k gold designer jewelry collection at Bergdorf Goodman in 1999, Ippolita spent several months developing her own signature gold color, a gorgeous glowing hue which flatters every skin
tone. "Jewelry is emotional. The very color of my gold jewelry attracts
you to it." she believes.

The unique sculptural quality of her jewelry comes from the fact that the designer insists that each and every piece be made by hand. Her signature bangles, for example, are hand cast from original wax sculptures, and the open-link chains she uses in her earrings and necklaces are formed and soldered by hand as well.

“My goal is to create jewelry that you really want to wear all the time, that is easy and that makes you feel good – jewelry that is unintimidating yet cool,” says Ippolita. She is strongly influenced by fashion, yet manages to create pieces that stand the test of time.