fuzz

A post from my wife:

Hi, we are in Florence and I would like to buy some gold. I am used to buying gold by weight in Dubai and India, however when we went to Ponte Vecchio they said they do not sell be weight (crazy talk)!!! Is there any reasonable gold jeweler in Florence? Please help!

philemer

Why do you have to buy in Florence? Isn't gold about the same price where ever you buy it? Especially if it is sold by the ounce? I suppose each country/city probably has unique pieces not available elsewhere. We'll be there in July so anxious to see if you get any good tips. Is the weather good?

PWMTrav

Unless there's something you must have, skip buying jewelry in Florence. You'll pay tourist prices. Especially on Ponte Vecchio. And if it's so unique that you must have it, don't expect them to price it by weight.

brandi

I bought a gold medalion gold coin piece on the ponte vechio during my first visit to Florence and it was a beautiful 18k piece that was reasonable. The next visit to Italy I bought a beautiful cameo ring in Venice. This summer I plan to buy another piece on the ponte vechio. To me it is all about the uniqueness of the pieces that you cannot buy in the states.

Perche

Sort of agree. Buyer beware. If OP is just looking for gold, there's no point. If OP is looking for gold jewelry, there's no reason to buy it in Florence. Florence, like Venice, has its famous bridge. In Venice the Ponte Rialto is full of junk shops where tourists get completely fleeced, and go home thinking they scored a great piece of art. Yet, amid all of that junk on Ponte Rialto if you want a cameo piece there is a true artist named Eredi Jovon right on the bridge. Nothing is fake, and it is all true art.

San Marco is full of junk, but a few blocks away is a guy who makes handcrafted eyeglasses, almost each a one of a kind, and without question when you come back to the states everyone will make comments about how beautiful they are. You will even have strangers walking by you and here them say, "did you see those glasses, how beautiful!"

Florence is the same. Nothing but junk on Ponte Vecchio, and 98% of tourist come home with overpriced junk. But there on the bridge is Fratelli Picini, a true artisanal family that makes top of the line handcrafted jewelry such that you won't find anywhere else in the world.

As with restaurants, you just have to know where to go. I go to Florence for leather. My day to day office bag is Florentine leather. My travel luggage is leather. Florence is famous for leather, therefore 95% of it is fake, made in China, or in sweatshops in Tuscany using virtual slave labor. Just like Venice is famous for glass, but it's almost all made in China and sold as authentic. If you know to go to places like Scuola del Cuoio in Florence to get your leather, you can do very well. BTW, they called me a few weeks ago to tell me that they just opened up their first new store outside of Florence, located in NYC, and told me that I don't need to go to Florence anymore to get their stuff. Unfortunately, I'm not in NYC very much.

My take is that there is no purpose going to Florence and specifically looking to buy gold, so I agree with that. I also agree that if OP is going to Florence and looking to buy gold jewelry, he or she is almost certain to get ripped off. If OP is a little more explicit than just saying he wants to buy gold in Florence, people can help ward him away from the tourist traps.

JMN57

I'll start by saying that gold jewelry, if priced by weight, is pretty much a commodity and all you need to know is what the price per gram is, the prevailing rate for sold jewelry at key places around the world and the quality of the gold.

Given that, if you are looking for nice pieces/designs, they can be found many places and in Florence as well. I'm not talking about buying gold as an investment... but buying some nice gold jewelry that you or your spouse likes.

That said, my wife likes and we have bought a few pieces (gold bracelets) at COI Spa which is a few blocks from the Ponte Vecchio (Via Por Santa Maria, 8) and not on the street level but on the second floor (counting as an American).

Worth a look, buying not mandatory.

fet

Can you recommend any good restaurants? Thanks.

PWMTrav

If you poke around some of my posts in this forum, I've made a bunch of restaurant suggestions.

greatwhitenorth

I'd love to check out the handcrafted eyeglasses while we're in Venice. What is the name of the shop and its location, please?

Perche

Micromega Ottica. Here is their website, which includes location.
http://www.micromegaottica.com/#!entheproduct/c20pg

PWMTrav

Quite a range - from tasteful to garish. I want the ones with the lightning bolt arms.

Perche

Very true! The guy is an artist and has some designs that are way out there, but also some that are just classy. If you bring your prescription, they'll have them ready in a few short days. Prices are about the same as glasses in the USA.