robbiegirl

A friend gave me money to take to Venice and purchase some venetian glass jewelry she had seen here in the US. She said she "heard" it is "all over the streets" there and quite inexpensive. Is this true? It looks like murano glass. I do not want to have to go searching for things on our vacation.

kle

we bought some of this in Venice - - you will not have a problem seeing a bunch of it in this city. You may want to ask your friend what colors they like before going.

elaine

if she wants a souvenir and isn't spending much money, and won't be upset if the piece breaks due to poor workmanship, you can find lots of things. You can also spend quite a bit on items in shops around Piazza San Marco. You should also ask if she likes a more traditional look, or quite modern.

Here are some shops I know of

Perle Veneziane, Pondte della Canonica 4308, San Marco. They may have other shops in Venice; I know they have one at the airport. Beautiful jewelry made of Venetian glass beads.

Proietto Perle, Castello 4308 Modern styling on jewelry

mclaurie

Yes there's glass jewelry readily available in shops and sometimes in stalls on the street. By all accounts here, the prices on Murano are not necessarily cheaper than IN Venice proper. Also know a lot of what is sold both in Venice and on Murano is not necessarily sold there. But if the idea is the style and it being inexpensive, I guess the authenticity doesn't matter?

Your friend should describe exactly what she wants (color, size, style). You or she might do some online shopping to see if she can find something that looks like what she has in mind.

While I was there, some of the best prices I saw were in a shop near the Jewish Ghetto. David's shop is famous for Judaica but down the "road" from the Judaica shop there is also a regular jewelry shop with beaded stuff. Antichita is a well known shop in Dorsoduro that sells individual beads and ready made things both with new beads and antique beads. There's more info here if you do a text search for previous threads.

mclaurie

Sorry, I meant a lot of what is sold in Venice is not necessarily <b>made</b> there.

robbiegirl

She showed me at a jewelry show at the hospital what she was looking for. She gave me 50.00 to spend on a bracelet , necklace and earrings.

Thanks for the tip about the shop David in the Ghetto as I would like a nice star of David . Are those items made in Venice at that shop? Those would make nice chanukah gifts.

elaine

David's items are said to be made in and around Venice, most have labels indicating that.

Another, said to be better shop,for Judaica and priced accordingly: Gianfranco Penzo, 2895 Campo Ghetto Novo, on the corner. If the shop is closed, try knocking on the door of #2898, which is the workshop. Classic and art deco designs in glass. The items in the window are absolutely gorgeous, but the three times I've gone there the shop has been closed.

suze

I bought a pair of 'Venetian glass' pierced earrings several years ago for myself. They were ~100USD as I recall. You might want to make a deal with your friend, so she understands you'll keep your eyes open, but not promise to spend your vacation trying to find the inexpensive 3-piece set she has in mind.

mclaurie

I could be wrong, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find a set for $50. David's shop has a website (with surprisingly limited stock online)

http://www.davidshop.com/index.html

elaine

mclaurie, I don't think you're wrong, $50 might buy a pair of earrings in a shop, and we know that Venice shopping bargains are few and far between.
I think robbiegirl should just see if street vendors have anything, but otherwise the shops we've mentioned will probably be over budget. She might stumble across a souvenir shop that has something, though not a whole set.