Timeless Home Accessories

Silver-Coated Seashells by Ruzzetti & Gow

These seashells are gathered in the Philippines and sent to Rome, where Ruzzetti artisans coat them―wholly or partially―with sterling silver.
 To buy: $40 to $2,500 each (most are in the $200 range), ruzzettiandgow.com for stores.
 
 The backstory: Designer Christopher Gow first saw these shells in 1993―they were being produced in the Italian silver factory of his friend Giampiero Ruzzetti. “I would bring them back to the United States as wedding gifts,” says Gow, “and people went crazy for them.” The duo began exporting them in 1996.
 
 What design pros say:
 

• “Who knows what silver is going to be worth in 50 years?” says Chip Cordelli, a furniture dealer and prop and interior stylist in Brooklyn. “I think it will be something really special.”