Rene Caovilla

It depends on how you intend to wear them. These are evening shoes built around lavish embellishment and hand-finished craftsmanship, so the value sits in the artistry rather than in everyday mileage. If you want a jewel-like pair for occasions and are happy to treat them gently, they reward you; if you need a hard-wearing daily heel, look elsewhere.

The price reflects what goes into them. Caovilla built his name on the upscale end of the market, specializing in lavish evening shoes acclaimed for their embellishments and craftsmanship, with hand-embroidery a tradition in the family workshop. Intricate beading and jeweled detailing take skilled artisans many hours, and that labor is the cost.

They are best understood as occasion shoes rather than all-day footwear. Heavily embellished evening styles ask for a little care, so many owners save them for events and dancing in moderation rather than long walks. Treat them as the jeweled pieces they are and they will look their best when it matters.

All sit in the luxury evening-shoe world, but Caovilla's signature is overt embellishment. Where Manolo Blahnik leans on elegant lines and Jimmy Choo on glamour, Rene concentrated on the most lavish end of the market, beginning to craft jeweled footwear around 2000 while collaborating with Karl Lagerfeld. If you want shoes that read as jewelry, that is his lane.

He is celebrated for opulent, jewel-like evening shoes. Rene focused on the upscale segment of the market, specializing in lavish evening footwear prized for its embellishments, and from 2000 onward, while working with Karl Lagerfeld, he started creating jeweled footwear. The look is unmistakably ornate.

The house grew from a Riviera del Brenta shoemaking family in Italy. Rene Caovilla was born in 1938 in Fiesso d'Artico, near Venice; his father Edoardo had studied under Luigi Voltan, recognized as the first shoemaker in Riviera del Brenta. Rene took over the family enterprise in the early 1960s after studying design in Paris and London.

His résumé reads like a roll call of couture. During the 1970s Rene worked with Valentino Garavani, then with Christian Dior and Chanel in the 1980s, and around 2000 he collaborated with Karl Lagerfeld, which is when he began making jeweled footwear. That couture grounding shows in the finishing.

Yes, the brand has a long red-carpet following. Various celebrities have been seen in his designs, including Jennifer Aniston, Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, Kim Kardashian and Rihanna. The jeweled aesthetic photographs beautifully under lights, which is part of its enduring appeal.

It is. On 10 September 2007, Harrods employed a live Egyptian cobra to provide security for the shoe counter, safeguarding a pair of haute couture sandals adorned with rubies, sapphires and diamonds designed by Caovilla. It remains one of the most theatrical moments in the brand's story.

Footwear is the heart of the house, but it is not the only line. Rene's wife Paola, who came from a footwear family herself, took on public relations and oversaw the Caovilla handbag line, so accessories sit alongside the famed evening shoes.

Treat them like the hand-finished pieces they are. Store them in their box or a dust bag away from heat and direct light, avoid wet or rough surfaces that can loosen beading, and wipe crystals gently with a soft dry cloth. For any serious repair to embellishment, go to a specialist rather than a general cobbler.