FLOAT 100 · Jewelry · No. 76
Pomellato Nudo Classic Ring (London blue topaz)
In 2001 a Milan jeweler took the prongs off the solitaire, cut a square of colored stone with 57 irregular facets, called it "naked," and watched the first rings sell out.
- Year
- current
- Maker
- Pomellato
- By price in jewelry
- 90 of 100
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Create a free account- Maker
- Pomellato, Milan
- Model
- Nudo Classic Ring, London blue topaz
- Reference
- PAA1100 (product code PAA1100-O6000-000TL)
- Metal
- 18k rose gold and 18k white gold
- Stone
- One London blue topaz of about 9 carats, as the maker describes it
- Cut
- Square stone with 57 hand-cut asymmetrical facets, held without visible prongs
- Introduced
- 2001
- Making time
- Four days by hand in the Milan atelier for a Classic size ring, per one account
- Retail
- $3,550 at the maker in October 2026
Taking the prongs away
Pomellato unveiled the Nudo in Milan in 2001. Its premise was to strip the classic solitaire down to its essence: a square of colored stone that seems to float on the finger, held not by visible prongs but by a fixing system concealed inside the collet at the base of the stone. Nudo means "nude" or "naked" in Italian, and the setting shows every angle of the gem except the bottom.
The ring was a deliberate answer to the diamond engagement ring and to the large, showy jewelry of the time. Pomellato's chief executive Sabina Belli later called it "the perfect yet ironic answer to the solitaire ring." Instead of one white stone, Nudo offered color, and it was designed from the start to be stacked: one of the first fine-jewelry rings made expressly to be worn in twos and threes.
Accounts say the first collection was five rings, in garnet, aquamarine, peridot, iolite and red tourmaline, and that they sold out immediately.
Pomellato and the idea of everyday jewels
Pomellato was founded in Milan in 1967 by the goldsmith Pino Rabolini, who built it around the idea of prêt-à-porter jewelry: jewels worn at any time of day and changed like clothes, rather than kept for occasions. In the 1990s the house concentrated on colored stones, and in 1995 it launched a second brand, Dodo.
The Nudo marked what one writer calls the house's New Precious era, which aimed to bring entry-level fine jewels into a market full of ostentatious pieces. Each Nudo stone is faceted in house: the Nudo cut adapts a cabochon shape, onto which gem cutters hand-cut 57 irregular facets. Pomellato holds international copyright on both the design and the cut, according to one account.
Vincenzo Castaldo became Pomellato's creative director in 2004 and has carried the Nudo forward since. The house became part of the luxury group Kering in 2013, and Sabina Belli was named chief executive in December 2015.
2001
The Nudo appeared in a year that turned dark. Greece joined the eurozone on January 1, 2001, and in March the Taliban began destroying the Buddhas of Bamiyan. In July, the G8 summit in Genoa, Italy, drew an estimated 200,000 protesters. Then came the September 11 attacks and, in October, the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.
It was also the year Apple released the first iPod and Microsoft the first Xbox.
The Classic in London blue topaz
This entry is the Nudo Classic, the house's standard size, in 18k rose gold and 18k white gold set with one London blue topaz of about 9 carats. The maker describes it as a stackable ring, made to be mixed and matched with other Nudo rings in other colors.
London blue topaz is one of the stones Pomellato cuts and sets in house; one jewelry writer followed a London blue topaz through faceting, polishing, quality control and setting. The square stone's top shows the signature soft, asymmetrical faceting, and the gold structure beneath it is kept to a minimum.
Nudo rings now come in four sizes, from petite to maxi, and 35 different gems have been set in Nudo jewels over the years, from prasiolite, pink quartz and sky blue topaz to aquamarine, amethyst and tourmaline, along with finishes such as the frosted Nudo Gelé and doublets and triplets that pair stones.
From one ring to 150 pieces
The design itself has barely changed since 2001, but the family around it has grown to about 150 items. A Nudo pendant arrived in 2016, a bracelet in 2018 and a sautoir in 2019, the last with stones in a double-faced hourglass cut called Clessidra. In 2019 the house also introduced Nudo Deep Blue rings pairing London blue topaz with lapis or turquoise.
In 2023 the Nudo moved into high jewelry with the Nudo Triennale rings in the Ode to Milan collection. Pomellato calls the Nudo the icon of its brand, and its wearers have included Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett, Salma Hayek, Jane Fonda, Lupita Nyong'o and Amanda Seyfried.
As a current model, the Nudo Classic in London blue topaz is sold new by Pomellato; in October 2026 its U.S. price was $3,550.
The numbers
- Carat weight
- About 9 ct London blue topaz (maker's figure, approximate)
- Metal
- 18k rose gold and 18k white gold
- Cut
- Square Nudo cut, 57 hand-cut irregular facets on a cabochon-derived shape
- Setting
- Prong-free; fixing system concealed inside the collet
- Reference
- PAA1100
- Origin
- Designed and made in Milan, Italy
- Production
- Current model; no production figures published
Timeline
Pino Rabolini founds Pomellato in Milan.
Pomellato launches its second brand, Dodo.
Pomellato unveils the Nudo in Milan; the first five rings sell out.
Vincenzo Castaldo is named Pomellato's creative director.
Kering acquires Pomellato.
Sabina Belli becomes chief executive of the Pomellato group.
The first Nudo pendant is introduced.
A Nudo bracelet is unveiled.
A Nudo sautoir with Clessidra-cut stones and the Nudo Deep Blue rings are introduced.
The Nudo enters high jewelry with the Nudo Triennale rings.
The Nudo Classic in London blue topaz retails for $3,550 in the U.S.
The world in 2001
Greece becomes the 12th country to join the eurozone.
The Taliban begins destroying the Buddhas of Bamiyan.
The G8 summit opens in Genoa, Italy, amid demonstrations of about 200,000 people.
The September 11 attacks kill nearly 3,000 people.
A U.S.-led coalition invades Afghanistan.
Apple releases the iPod and Microsoft the Xbox.
Price record
| Date | Price | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2026 | $3,550 | Asking price, not a saleMaker's U.S. retail price, Nudo Classic in 18k rose and white gold with a London blue topaz of about 9 ct. |
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 Nudo Classic Ring (London blue topaz) is number 90 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 (76 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.
Did you know
- Nudo means "naked" in Italian, a nod to how little gold holds the stone.
- Each Nudo stone is hand-cut with 57 irregular facets.
- A Classic size Nudo takes four days to make by hand in Milan, according to one account.
- The first five Nudo rings, in 2001, used garnet, aquamarine, peridot, iolite and red tourmaline.
- By one count, 35 different gems have been set in Nudo jewels.
- The Nudo family has grown to about 150 pieces, but the original ring is virtually unchanged.
How this page is made
- The figure
- One reference price, shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
- Realized or not
- A realized price is a completed sale. An asking price, an estimate and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
- The story
- Researched from published records and checked fact by fact. Updated Oct 3, 2026.
- Archive
- Oct 5, 2026