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  jeweler by passion...
  Gianni Onorato (born in 1938) was a well-off jeweler from a family in the coral trade for many generations.
  Raffaele Onorato srl, a company based in Torre del Greco, Naples, was specialized in transforming coral from a raw state into a finished work of art. In the sixties, for example, they carved the material into beautiful flower petals and sent them to Van Cleef & Arpels to be assembled into the famous model Rose de Noёl. In the thirties, they were among the first to approach the market of Japanese culture pearls.
  In 1964 Gianni moved to Milano and established his own company trading top quality pearls. Meanwhile, he developed a sharp artistic sense and began designing jewelry. He met Romolo Grassi, the last great Italian artist-goldsmith, who converted Giovanni's sketches into reality. Together, they created wonderful jewels and objets de vertu in hard stones and enamel. The works were called Oggetti per Passione, since they were drawn from passion, with no regard for cost; their only interest being the purest art.
  This is how Onorato's oeuvre came to light, always perfectly crafted, of exquisite design and full of wonder. Inspirations might be found in works of Botticelli and Art-Nouveau, by Mucha, and even in Japanese art and in the objects of Salvador Dali. The quality and inventiveness of his style is comparable to the likes of contemporary jewelers, Schlumberger and David Webb.
  He became a well renown jeweler with premises at Via della Spiga n.3. Even Fred Leighton, the famous jeweler from New York, was fond of Giovanni's work, and acquired several pieces from him to sell in the United States.
  Shortly after, Leighton encouraged his Italian friend to launch his creations in the USA but Gianni decided not to adopt such a life of bureaucracy and obligations. He preferred to stick to visual art and became a complete contemporary artist taking the pseudonym John Doing.