VVIP | Vhernier's Isabella Traglio: Creating The Jewel That Does Not Exist Yet

In 2001, a passionate collector of art walked into a small booth at a fair and saw something he could not walk away from: a handful of unconventional jewels that looked nothing like the rest of the market. He called his brother, Isabella Traglio's father, and said, "We have to buy this."

What began as a side adventure for a family already running other businesses became Vhernier. For sixteen-year-old Isabella, it marked the start of a life spent inside that vision. Today, as Head of Design and R&D, she is the one ensuring the brand continues to create "the jewel that does not exist yet."

Isabella's entry felt almost predestined. At nineteen, while studying at the University of Milan, she needed pocket money and asked her father if she could work in Vhernier's first boutique in the Montenapoleone district. He agreed. She began at the very bottom: polishing jewels clients tried on, stamping labels, learning every detail of the pieces. "I really just started from the ground up," she recalls, "and I think that is fundamental." Those early days taught her the intimate language of jewelry: the way a stone catches the light, the feel of metal against skin, the subtle weight that makes a piece feel like an extension of the body rather than an ornament.

That immersion sparked something lasting. After graduating, her uncle encouraged her to study gemmology at the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA) in New York. She then returned to Italy, completed a master's in economics at Bocconi University, and spent time at Christie's in Geneva, where she handled extraordinary stones. Through that experience, she realized Vhernier's true strength lay in design, rather than mere spectacle. "I saw many incredible pieces," she says, "but they focused not on the design, but on the stone." That insight sharpened her focus, sparking a realization that jewelry could be art.

The Making of a Designer Throughout it all, Isabella remained tethered to Vhernier, working in the workshops alongside co-founder Angela Camurati who had founded Vhernier together with a sculptor in 1984 and a lady she describes as "the person who taught me everything." "She is very tough, and we were born on the same day, the eighth of May. That was destiny." Camurati's influence was profound, shaping Isabella's understanding of form, movement, and uncompromising craftsmanship, lessons she still carries forward into every sketch and prototype.

She progressed through nearly every part of the business: product development, production, corporate image, retail, HR. By the time she became Head of Design and R&D, she had spent twelve years directly on the products. "I like the heritage," she says, "the DNA of this brand."

The Vhernier DNA That DNA is unmistakable. Vhernier draws from nature, modern sculpture, and the human body. Pieces are smooth, ergonomic, and free of sharp edges. The creative process is almost scientific. For animal-inspired designs, the team studies live subjects, treated humanely and released, to capture authentic movement. "We believe that something that represents nature has to have movement," Isabella explains. "It cannot be stuck there on your jacket." A crab's claws are asymmetrical; a frog's skin textured; a caterpillar undulates. "We are trying to replicate exactly the same movement they have in reality." This attention to detail transforms jewelry into something living, responsive to the wearer's gestures.

Proprietary techniques, like Trasparenze, layer stones so rock crystal magnifies flawless jade beneath, demanding perfection. "The equality has to be perfect because the rock crystal works as a magnifier," Isabella explains. "The jade on the bottom has to be perfect: no cracks, no veins, no dark dots, nothing." Everything is handmade in Valenza, where the maison invests heavily in its artisans, often second- or third-generation families. "If everyone goes abroad to produce, there is no heritage," she notes. "You cannot do these pieces by machine. It is impossible."

The Palloncino collection perfectly captures this spirit. Isabella had a vision in mind: "I said to my team, I want to do something that is spectacular," she remembers. "So we bought a lot of balloons, filled them with helium, and we were trying to put the bunch of balloons onto the neck." The result was a piece that floats and shifts, never rigid, with each element angled to suggest gentle, natural drift. The balloons do not all point the same way, moving independently yet harmoniously, mirroring how real helium-filled balloons behave. Throughout it all, wearability remains a non-negotiable. "The piece has to follow the line of the body," Isabella insists. "In 2026, you cannot wear something that makes you itchy or feels unnatural."

Vhernier introduces unseen collections every two or three years, with extensions throughout the year, always evolving within its core identity. The design team is an intimate group of five, including Isabella, supported by modelers who translate sketches into precise files for prototyping.

The Vhenier Woman The Vhernier woman is not a fixed archetype, but one who is not afraid to wear something different and stand out: "They generally eschew the need for overt branding, preferring instead to curate a personal style that reflects their discerning taste and unique elegance." Wearing Vhernier draws attention. "When you go to a dinner, the rest of the women look at you… 'What is this? Where do you get it?"

Richemont: A New Chapter In 2024, Richemont acquired 100% of Vhernier, a step Isabella welcomed with open arms. "The Richemont group arrived, and I was very happy," she says. "Vhernier deserves it." She played a key role in the transaction. The Traglio family remains deeply involved: Maurizio Traglio as Chairman of Vhernier S.p.A., Carlo Traglio as Chairman of Vhernier USA LLC, with CEO Gianluca Brozzetti (from Buccellati) leading operations. The brand now operates 17 mono-brand boutiques worldwide, including a flagship in Hong Kong at The Peninsula Hotel that opened in November 2025, with further expansion planned.

Her schedule is relentless: frequent trips to Valenza, Milan design sessions, supplier visits, client meetings. "I don't have a really typical week," she admits. "It really depends on the time, on the seasons." Yet she protects two daily rituals: breakfast with her children and, whenever possible, dinner together. "Always breakfast, and dinner, if I can," she says. "If I have like a business dinner, I pre-eat with them, and we share what happened during the day." She lives by a firm rule: to be present at the table, no phones in sight. "Those twenty minutes, it's just for them, and it's enough because it's quality time." She teaches her children that passion matters. "I ask them: 'Are you happy when you do something you like? Yes. It's the same for me.'" They see prototypes first, offering unfiltered reactions and suggestions. "They are the first people who see the new collection."

In a field where women have long navigated male-dominated workshops and boardrooms, Isabella's trajectory from polishing jewels to leading creative direction speaks to an undercurrent of persistence and vision. She values her team deeply: "The people I love most are the people in my team that I've worked with for 20 years," she says. "There is a very low rotation of staff. When you have passion for something, they feel it, and they feel safe." Clients, too, have shaped her into who she is: "The clients for me are fundamental. We have some clients who have really raised me in some way."

As Vhernier continues to expand under Richemont, Isabella remains anchored in its essence: curiosity, craftsmanship, and the belief that jewelry should feel like an extension of life: alive, moving, and personal. The future holds more boutiques, extensions, and awareness, but at its core, Vhernier continues creating jewels that have yet to exist… until they do.