Objects of Affection

One of our favourite jewellery brands, Le Sundial brings together vintage influences, sculptural shapes and Italian craftsmanship. We catch up with founder Silvia Dusci to talk wardrobe favourites, treasured finds and the pieces she’s wearing now.

Silvia Dusci, founder of Le Sundial

Le Sundial has such a distinct identity. How did the brand first come about?

Le Sundial grew out of my love of vintage, antiques and the pleasure of discovering something unexpected. One of my favourite ways to spend a Sunday is wandering through markets in Tuscany and across Italy, without necessarily knowing what I’m looking for.

At a market in Cortona, I found a shell that I still keep today. It inspired the Nautilus Collar, the first piece I designed for myself, and Le Sundial grew from there. I love how a chance discovery can become something deeply personal.

I’m drawn to the elegance and structure of Art Deco, but also to organic shapes, small irregularities and the character that comes from making something by hand. Everything is made in Italy, in close collaboration with small ateliers and family-run businesses.

My hope is to create pieces that people form an attachment to, that acquire a patina and become more personal over time.

Where do you tend to find inspiration? Are there particular places or people you keep coming back to?

I love observing the world around me. Often, it’s something quite ordinary that catches my attention: a gesture, the way a woman wears something, an architectural detail or a surface that has changed with age.

Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan is a particular reference for texture and colour. I love the relationship between its polished stone, warm woods and softer tones, and how materials give each room its atmosphere.

Art Deco is a recurring inspiration, especially its dialogue with East Asian decorative arts: lacquer, lustrous surfaces and stylised natural forms.

I also return to Tina Chow for the individuality of her style, and to Sheila Metzner’s photography for its atmosphere, textures and colours.

What does a typical day look like for you, and how do you balance the creative and business sides of running Le Sundial?

My days are very hands-on and probably less romantic than people might imagine! I’m constantly moving between appointments, meeting people, carrying samples and making decisions about all the practical things involved in running a business.

Creativity happens throughout that activity. Even when I’m rushing from one appointment to another, I might notice a woman with a particular presence, or a detail on a doorway I’ve walked past many times without really seeing. The creative thought process never entirely switches off. Finding a balance is an ongoing exercise, but the practical and creative sides often feed into one another.

Do you have a piece in your wardrobe or jewellery collection that holds a particularly special memory?

An Hermès cape coat from the Jean Paul Gaultier years holds a particularly special memory. I bought it in Paris as a gift to myself after a successful trip for Le Sundial, so it’s tied to a moment when I felt proud of what I was building.

It’s dark grey cashmere with brown leather details and metal fastenings, and has a beautiful sculptural shape. I love the softness of the cashmere against those more structured details. It’s a piece I know I’ll keep for years, both for its design and for the memory it carries.

There’s also a pair of Italian earrings from the eighties, handmade in pink coral with yellow gold details. They have generous teardrop-shaped pendants, each hand-carved with an angel. I find them quite extraordinary: the delicacy of the carving within such a bold shape gives them a very particular character. They’re among the most special pieces in my jewellery collection.

You have the Tulip Collection launching in November. What was the inspiration behind it?

What drew me to the tulip was its sculptural presence. There’s something quietly sensual about the way the petals curve, fold and begin to open. Its silhouette is so recognisable, yet a slight change in movement or proportion gives each flower a different character.

I wanted to capture that tension between a composed form and something alive. We developed the petals by hand, preserving the small irregularities that emerged in the process. The brushed silver gives them a soft, diffused light, allowing the curves and the depth of the form to come through.

The collection feels particularly special to me because it brings together so much of what I love: structure, organic movement and the visible trace of the hand. There’s a sense of stillness to the pieces, but also the suggestion that they might unfold.

What are your current favourite pieces from Le Sundial, and how would you personally style them?

At the moment, my favourites are the Alma Earrings, the Tulip Collar and the upcoming Rain Mono Earrings, which are coming out soon. I love the soft light of brushed silver and how it brings out the shape of each piece.

I’d wear them with a simple oversized T-shirt in white or dusty grey, with black trousers or a midi skirt, a good belt and kitten heels. I like that slightly relaxed setting for a sculptural piece of jewellery. For a night out, I’d pull my hair into a bun and add a red lip, softly blotted so the edges feel a little undone.

When creating something new, where does the process usually begin?

It often begins with a detail that stays with me—a shape, a texture or something I’ve noticed while going about my day. I don’t always know what it will become; the idea takes shape through working with the goldsmiths and seeing the first prototypes. Holding a piece, feeling its weight and seeing how it sits on the body often leads to changes I couldn’t have anticipated.

I pay particular attention to proportion and movement: how an earring frames the face, where a pendant falls, or how a surface catches the light. Sometimes a very small adjustment makes the whole piece feel right. I like leaving room for those discoveries, and for the character that emerges from making something by hand.

Outside of work, what are you currently loving?

I’m looking forward to spending weekends by the sea with my boyfriend and our little dog this autumn and winter. There’s something slightly melancholic and romantic about the seaside out of season that I love: the muted colours, the empty beaches, the sound of the water. Even a long walk feels different there.

Tuscany is another place I love returning to, for walks in the hills and weekends that revolve around good food. There’s so much pleasure in having very little planned: somewhere to walk, something delicious to eat and time together. My working days are quite full, so that slower rhythm feels especially precious.