Pomellato Catene Necklace (18k rose gold)

A chain maker's son

Pino Rabolini came from a Milanese goldsmithing family known for making chains. Inspired by Pierre Cardin and the arrival of ready-to-wear fashion in the 1960s, he set out to do the same for jewelry, and in 1967 he founded Pomellato with a first collection of 30 pieces in which, he later wrote, he concentrated 'the rebellions of that crucial decade and the experience of tradition.'

The idea became known as ready-to-wear, or prêt-à-porter, jewelry: pieces worn at any time of day and changed like clothes, rather than saved for rare occasions. Andrea Morante, Pomellato's chief executive from 2009 to 2015, said Rabolini 'was the first to introduce the concept of jewelry chosen by women for themselves,' rather than chosen by men as gifts.

Chains were at the center from the beginning. Pomellato's archive includes a first Gourmette bracelet from 1967, the Ricciolo chain of 1968, Intreccio of 1983, Catena Spiga of 1987 and Tre Ori of 1993. The house describes its goal as raising the chain from a functional element into a creative statement, with plaques that lie flat against the neck, seamless mechanisms and forms that hide their clasps.

The people behind Catene

Vincenzo Castaldo was named Pomellato's creative director in 2004, and the luxury group Kering acquired the company in July 2013. Sabina Belli became chief executive of the Pomellato group in December 2015. Rabolini, who stepped away from the company, later told Belli that the Pomellato chapter of his life was concluded and that he had no regrets; he died of a heart attack at 82.

Castaldo described the 2021 collection as 'a contemporary interpretation in a minimalist style of the archetypal gourmette chain link,' designed for women 'who wish to enjoy the pleasure of wearing a chain every day in true Pomellato style.' The launch campaign starred the Venetian sisters Viola and Vera Arrivabene Valenti Gonzaga.

Pomellato says every Catene piece is crafted by hand at its Casa Pomellato atelier in Milan, and that the collection uses only responsible gold from certified mines or from supply chains engaged in sustainability projects.

2021: a classic link for a new audience

Catene was introduced in May 2021 as a contemporary collection aimed at a younger, fashion-forward audience. At its heart was the house's flexible gourmette link, combined with rigid elements. The first pieces were bracelets with five fully mobile gold links over a solid hinged bangle, rings whose central links also flex, and earrings, in rose gold with or without diamonds or in white gold with diamonds.

Pomellato presented the chain as a jewel with cross-cultural appeal and the collection as a daily essential with Milanese understated glamour. It arrived while the world was still in the COVID-19 pandemic: the Tokyo Olympics, postponed from 2020, opened that July.

The necklace in this entry carries the same polished gourmette links from the wrist to the neck, as a full chain of solid rose gold.

The rose gold necklace

This entry is the plain 18k rose gold Catene necklace, reference PCC1010_O7000_00000. Retailers describe it as a curb-link chain of polished large links with a round hinged closure. Its length is given differently from store to store: 15 inches by one U.S. jeweler, 16 inches by another, and 38 centimeters by a Belgian retailer.

Pomellato also makes diamond-set Catene pieces in which, in the house's words, gold all but disappears beneath a dense pavé, using its signature irregular setting. Those are separate references from the plain rose gold necklace.

In October 2026 an authorized U.S. retailer listed the plain rose gold necklace at $30,250. A Belgian retailer listed the same reference at 35,000 euros.

The chain as signature

In June 2026 Pomellato opened 'Le Joaillier Révolutionnaire,' an exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris tracing what it calls the house's five revolutions, in craftsmanship, color, style, image and the representation of women. Catene was shown there as one of the house's most recognizable contemporary collections, with hand-finished links that achieve 'a near-liquid fluidity.'

The gourmette keeps returning. Alongside the exhibition, Pomellato's new high jewelry collection, Pomellato Stile Libero, included a piece called Audace that reinterprets a Gourmette chain from the 1972 archives in modular rose gold with white and brown diamonds.

Pomellato's best-known lines include Nudo, Iconica, Sabbia and M'Ama Non M'Ama. Accounts differ on Iconica's date: the 2026 exhibition material dates it to 2017, while an obituary of Rabolini calls it the first ring he introduced. Catene, built on the chain-making tradition Rabolini grew up with, ties the house's newest generation of jewels to its oldest skill.

The numbers

Metal

18k rose gold

Reference

PCC1010_O7000_00000

Link

Gourmette (curb), polished large links

Closure

Round hinged closure

Length

15 in, 16 in or 38 cm (retailer listings differ)

Production

Handmade at Casa Pomellato, Milan; RJC-certified responsible gold

Collection launch

May 2021

Timeline

1. 1967

   Pino Rabolini founds Pomellato in Milan; its first collection has 30 pieces, and the first Gourmette bracelet appears.

2. 1968

   Pomellato introduces the Ricciolo chain.

3. 1972

   A Gourmette chain design enters the archive that the house would revisit in 2026.

4. 1987

   The Catena Spiga chain is introduced.

5. 1995

   Rabolini launches Dodo, a more accessible second brand.

6. 2004

   Vincenzo Castaldo becomes creative director.

7. Jul 2013

   Kering acquires Pomellato.

8. Dec 2015

   Sabina Belli is appointed chief executive of the Pomellato group.

9. 2017

   Pomellato launches Pomellato for Women, a platform for gender equality.

10. May 2021

    Pomellato introduces Catene, built on the gourmette link.

11. Jun 2026

    The Palais de Tokyo exhibition in Paris features Catene; Pomellato Stile Libero revisits the 1972 Gourmette.

12. Oct 2026

    The rose gold Catene necklace lists at $30,250 at a U.S. retailer.

The world in 2021

• Feb 18, 2021

  NASA's Perseverance rover lands on Mars.

• Mar 23, 2021

  The container ship Ever Given runs aground and blocks the Suez Canal.

• Jul 23, 2021

  The Tokyo Summer Olympics open, a year late because of COVID-19.

• Aug 15, 2021

  The Taliban capture Kabul.

• Aug 30, 2021

  The last U.S. troops leave Kabul, ending 20 years of operations in Afghanistan.

• Oct 31, 2021

  The COP26 climate conference opens in Glasgow.

Price record

This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.

By reference price, Pomellato Catene Necklace (18k rose gold) is number 50 of 100 in the jewelry entries of the FLOAT 100. 44 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (99 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Catene simply means 'chains' in Italian.
• Pomellato's founder grew up in a Milanese family known for making chains.
• Pomellato's very first collection, in 1967, already included a Gourmette bracelet.
• The founder took his cue from Pierre Cardin's ready-to-wear clothing.
• The first Catene pieces were bracelets, rings and earrings; there was no necklace at launch.
• In 2026 the house revived a Gourmette chain from its 1972 archives as high jewelry.