MILAN — In the game of billiards, the first move is called “acchitto” in Italian — and it takes a dose of courage, preparation and even luck to execute.
This is how the two Italian founders, Francesca Richiardi and Elena Faccio of the jewelry brand Acchitto felt when they decided to give life to their project. In an interview with WWD, Richiardi mentioned that, “Initially we were unaware of what we were doing, Elena and I didn’t have an extensive knowledge of jewelry so we learned day by day.” Faccio agreed and added that, “We had the courage to throw ourselves into it.”
The designers met while working at the Fendi style offices and in March 2018 the jewelry brand Acchitto was born.
“We both had a great passion for jewelry and in particular for vintage, during that moment we noticed that the jewelry market was going in two specific directions: one which was very bold and on the opposite side, minimal designs,” said Faccio. “There was something in between that was actually missing.”
Richiardi and Faccio wanted to create a jewelry piece that could be recognizable and most importantly that would stand out, while also remaining elegant and wearable. This is why their first design was the “Il Moro Ring” (which costs from 130 to 160 euros depending on the model.) Richiardi explained that they “took inspiration from the Sicilian and Venetian moors but we completely distorted and reinterpreted them.”
After only four years, Acchitto has already gained recognition with celebrities both Italian and international. Recently, Adele chose to wear the ‘Aequor hoops earring’ for the cover of her Spotify album. Miley Cyrus decided to rock the brand’s colorful rings, and “Euphoria” star Sydney Sweeney wore the “Aequor onde earrings” in pink. Acchitto was also spotted at the finale of “RuPaul’s Drag Race U.S.”
“In 2021 Acchitto has grown exponentially, more than we could have ever estimated and expected, it is crazy to see so many world-known stars wearing our creations. We are always pleased to see how they wear it, what they feel when wearing it, also because each piece is designed to be worn differently,” continued Faccio.
Indeed, thanks to a special mechanism that has been patented by Richiardi and Faccio, the rings can be customized according to the customer’s request — making them unique and to be kept and collected over time. Faccio explained that, “The rings can be screwed and unscrewed back, in this way the client can choose even two different ‘heads’ with one base. It took us almost one year to finally come up with the perfect mechanism.”
Right now, Faccio and Richiardi are expanding their collection with accessories through the recent launch of a collection of sunglasses and belts for the summer 2022 season.
The sunglasses are made in four different acetates: black, tortoiseshell brown, purple and pearly white, with gradient lenses and with the shimmering A logo which is colored according to the model in gold, fuchsia or green and retail at 190 euros on Acchitto’s official website. Besides Acchitto’s website, the brand can also be bought on Yoox and at Gente Roma’s physical store in Rome.
“We realized that seasonality does not work with jewelry, waiting six months for a product also tends to penalize the customer’s request,” observed Faccio. “By launching smaller collections or capsules throughout the year, on one hand, it helps us a lot on a creative level and on the other hand, it brings us closer to the customer.”
This is why the two young designers plan to amplify even more the brand by creating shoes, bags and clothing collections, even through collaborations with other fashion labels.
“We want to grow and create an ‘acchittable look’ and not just jewelry, of course we always want to maintain this connection between us and our final customer, which makes Acchitto so desired,” Richiardi concluded.
