There are moments in travel when a building stops you in your tracks — not because you planned to see it, but because it found you. That's what happened to me in Como.
I was in Italy for my daughter Alexa's wedding at Villa Regina Teodolinda, the storied lakeside estate in the village of Laglio where Queen Teodolinda of the Lombards once lived. Between the joy of watching your daughter get married in one of the most beautiful places on earth and the golden light on the water, I found my way to the Duomo di Como — the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta — tucked just steps from the shore.
The Last Gothic Cathedral in Italy
What most people don't realize is that Como's cathedral is considered the last Gothic cathedral ever built in Italy. Construction began in 1396, just ten years after the Milan Cathedral broke ground, and wasn't completed until 1770 — nearly four centuries of artisans layering Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque elements into a single, harmonious structure.
But it was the west façade that held me. Built between 1457 and 1498, it features a magnificent rose window at its center, flanked by statues of Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger — both natives of Como. The window itself was completed by sculptor Luchino Scarabota and later refined by the great Tommaso Rodari, whose hand shaped much of the cathedral's ornamental brilliance.
I photographed the window's radiating pattern, the way the stone petals opened outward from a central trefoil — three interlocking leaves, like a clover — surrounded by layers of geometric tracery. It was delicate and strong at once. It was, I realized, already a piece of jewelry.
Translating Architecture into Gold
The Como Bracelet captures the essence of that rose window in miniature. The center charm reimagines the cathedral's open three-leaf clover motif — the same trefoil that has drawn the eye upward for over five hundred years. Available in two sizes (approximately 12.5mm and 16.50mm), it's designed to be both a statement and a layering piece.
What I love about this design is its restraint. Like the cathedral itself, which harmonizes centuries of evolving styles into something unified and elegant, the Como Bracelet is clean and modern while holding centuries of meaning. It sits beautifully on its own or stacked with other pieces in your arm collection.
Adjustable at 6.5, 7, and 7.5 inches with our signature easy-open lobster clasp, it's one of those pieces you put on in the morning and forget you're wearing — until someone asks about it. And then you get to tell the story.
The Story You Carry
Every Kirsten Dexter piece begins with a real place, a real moment, and a real window or doorway or gate that stopped me mid-stride. The Como Bracelet carries the memory of Lake Como's shimmering stillness, the weight of a cathedral that took four centuries to complete, and the quiet perfection of a rose window that has watched over the city since the Renaissance.
When you wear it, you're not just wearing gold. You're wearing Como.
The Como Bracelet is part of our European Collection, inspired by the architectural details of Europe's most iconic cities and cathedrals.