The Italian Jewelry Maker Buccellati Celebrates Its 100th Year

PARIS — Maria Cristina Buccellati, global communications and marketing director at her family’s jewelry house, was visibly excited on one particular gray January day in Paris.

It was partly because a new Buccellati flagship was to open a few days later on the Rue St.-Honoré, and partly because her family had been selecting more than 200 of its creations for what it calls a Vintage Collection, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Milan-based brand.

The collection included a necklace of sculpted crystal beads, created by Mario Buccellati, Ms. Buccellati’s grandfather and founder of the jewelry house. The piece was a gift for the Italian writer Gabriele D’Annunzio to present to his lover, the Italian actress Eleonora Duse.

“E’ bellissima,” Ms. Buccellati exclaimed as she displayed a picture of the necklace on her cellphone.

In April, about 30 pieces from the collection were presented to invited guests in Paris. Another selection will have a similar showing in June in New York, and then in London, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Some of the pieces may be sold, in their original boxes when available. Others are only for display — like the Duse necklace, which the family considers a meaningful part of house history.

That history began in 1919, when Mr. Buccellati opened a store near the La Scala opera house.

The jewelry house became known for its signature traforato, or pierced, gold work, a richly ornate style in which precious stones are attached with bezels rather than prongs. And for its handwork. “At Buccellati, you would see very emotionally charged pieces,” said Vivienne Becker, the jewelry historian, who recalled first encountering the house’s work in the 1980s at its Paris store.

Daniela Mascetti, chairwoman of Sotheby’s jewelry operations in Europe, said the house “is appreciated above all else for incomparable workmanship.” And, the pieces “rarely feature large, showy gemstones which might make the wearer feel self-conscious.”

Yet even as it honored tradition, the house was one of the first high jewelry makers to sell online.

“Our customers have responded incredibly well to Buccellati since its launch on Net-a-Porter March 2017,” said Elizabeth von der Goltz, the site’s global buying director. “The Hawaii, Macri and Rombi styles have all sold very well for us.” 

Buccellati, which does not release annual sales results, has been owned since August 2017 by Gansu Gangtai Holding, one of the largest jewelry distributors and online retailers in China. The value of Gansu’s 85 percent stake was not disclosed, but Forbes reported that it was based on an equity value of 230 million euros ($271 million) for the company.

In October, several news reports said that Gansu Gangtai was interested in selling because it was having problems with the Chinese government’s restrictions on overseas investments and that the Swiss luxury company Richemont and the Qatari company Mayhoola for Investments were interested. Richemont said it had no comment, and Gansu Gangtai and Mayhoola could not be reached.

Buccellati said that it had received several offers, but that “for the time being, there is nothing concrete.”

Some of the founder’s Buccellati grandchildren retained their leadership roles in the Gansu Gangtai deal: Andrea, as creative director; Maria Cristina, in communications; Luca, who handles V.I.P. clients, and Gino, overseeing silver production (he resigned in 2018).

Other family members are involved, too, like Andrea Buccellati’s daughter, Lucrezia, who has joined as a designer.

It is a point of pride that all the family members know the artisans. Some of them are the grandchildren of Mario Buccellati’s craftsmen; some work in the business’s atelier in a 1970s-era building in Milan or from their home workshops in the area.

A few weeks ago, when an artisan approached with a honeycomb-style bracelet, Luca Buccellati examined it and said, “This is Gianmarco’s, right?” correctly identifying the craftsman.

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