Glitz and grit

IN a business that sells sheer glamour and luxury, shrewd celebrity endorsements are not just a trend but an absolute necessity. For 91-year-old Italian jewellery marque Damiani, this A-lister association has been part of its marketing strategy since the 1980s, with campaigns starring the likes of Isabella Rossellini, Brad Pitt, Nastassja Kinski, Milla Jovovich, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sharon Stone and Sophia Loren. More recently, it unveiled a collaboration with former footballer and style icon Hidetoshi Nakata - an ongoing collection of understated jewellery that will help raise funds for the Clean Water Project, a humanitarian project to construct clean water wells in Africa.

"We have been good friends for the past 10 years and we will meet every few months when he is in Italy or I am in Japan, or even in London and Paris, and we have always talked about doing something together," says Giorgio Damiani, vice-president of the Damiani Group, about the partnership with Mr Nakata, who played for seven seasons in the Italian Serie A.

"I like him not just as a person, because he's a very nice guy, but he has always been in the fashion industry and has incredible taste. So we didn't do just a capsule collection, it is very concrete and not just for a season."