Montegrappa Dante Alighieri: Paradiso Rollerball, Silver, Limited Edit, ISHDNRSL

The long-awaited final chapter in the celebration of Italy's supreme poet has arrived. After last year's Dante Alighieri: Inferno and Dante Alighieri: Purgatorio, the Divine Comedy series is completed with the release of the stunning Dante Alighieri: Paradiso. Dante Alighieri: Paradiso more than lives up to its name and the high standards of craftsmanship set by its predecessors. The striking beauty of Dante Alighieri: Paradiso has a dual significance: as a stand-alone piece and as the gateway to one of the most accomplished collections created in the 110-year history. Its design continues the essential craftsmanship and narrative style of Inferno and Purgatorio. Once again, a Montegrappite core is combined with an elaborate lost-wax sculpture, but this time, the earthly circles and terraces of previous editions are replaced by the celestial spheres of Heaven. Each sphere is represented by coloured stones: zirconia (silver) and precious gems (gold), set along the body, with labels in English and Italian. Nine orders of angels surround the lid, which comprises the 'Primum Mobile', a ninth cosmological sphere around which everything else revolves. They rise towards three glowing discs at the top of the lid, elaborating Dante's visualisation of God as the holy trinity. Glorifications on the blind cap, cap rings and clip add period-appropriate ornamentation.