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Retail
Designer Lines
By Amber Michelle
Buccellati, founded in Milan, Italy, in 1919, by Mario Buccellati, is renowned for its detailed metalsmithing and intricate jewelry. The firm recently unveiled its newest jewelry collection at its Madison Avenue, New York City, townhouse boutique, where traditional jewelry-making techniques merge with contemporary styling for the modern woman. Lucrezia Buccellati, co-creative designer at Buccellati, gives her insights into jewelry as art.
How does Buccellati keep traditional jewelry-making techniques relevant for the modern woman? Since it was founded, Buccellati has always used goldsmithing techniques and tools that date back to the Italian Renaissance: fine hand-engraving made with burins, iconic honeycomb and openwork textures. These are all very specific techniques that are disappearing. Buccellati has created a distinctive style from those techniques and today we still continue to handcraft every single piece of jewelry. The modernity stands out in the design and interpretation of every jewel, which is in perfect sync with present times, but always faithful to the Buccellati style.
How does Buccellati elevate jewelry to art? One-of-a-kind high jewelry creations are true works of art. They are entirely handmade and unique, one and only and not repeatable. Their value is immeasurable, considering the use of gold and precious stones, but mainly because of the workmanship carried out by the passionate and skillful hands of our artisans. For certain objects, it takes months, if not years, of hard work to finish them. It is not just producing the piece, it is the love and care put into each step of the handcraftsmanship. Inspiration also elevates our jewelry to an art form. Every Buccellati generation — from my great grandfather Mario to my grandfather Gianmaria and my father Andrea — has drawn inspiration from natural elements and from details of the Venetian, Classical and Art Deco periods, by reinterpreting them and giving them a new independent life. That is what my father and I did a couple of years ago, for instance, with the Art Collection, composed of five high jewelry pieces inspired by five Impressionist paintings by Monet, Homer, Larionov, Bonnard and Redon. Our jewels and the paintings were displayed together during a New York event.
What is the training process for an artisan at Buccellati? The training is quite long and demanding because of the challenging and difficult techniques that Buccellati uses. We hire young artisans who start as apprentices and they usually are confirmed after their apprenticeship. They start working and exercising their goldsmith or engraving techniques on brass samples. Only after several months will they be ready to work on gold; they have to refine their dexterity, little by little. Our artisans become perfectly skilled and independent after 10 to15 years. Even then they will still have something new to learn. The craftsmanship at Buccellati is often passed down from father to son, and today we have some young craftsmen working for us who are the sons of the craftsmen who used to work for my grandfather. This is another point where tradition and modernity meet at Buccellati.Article from the Rapaport Magazine - May 2017. To subscribe click here.
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