GIANMARIA BUCCELLATI: A GARNET AND GOLD LONGCHAIN NECKLACE, ...

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€8,500 - €9,500

GIANMARIA BUCCELLATI: A GARNET AND GOLD LONGCHAIN NECKLACE, CIRCA 1970 The fancy-link sautoir composed of alternating textured gold cylindrical barrel beads interspersed by series of garnet beads connected by circular jump rings, mounted in 18K gold, signed Gianmaria Buccellati, Italian registry mark, length 117.5cm The celebrated Italian house of Buccellati is renowned for jewels and silver of singular character: gold engraved until it seems to assume the softness of silk, the lightness of lace, or the delicacy of tulle. Founded in Milan in 1919 by Mario Buccellati, the Maison has remained faithful to a vision of jewellery not merely as adornment, but as an art of texture, refinement, and memory. Born in Ancona in 1891 and trained in Milan, Mario Buccellati drew deeply from the goldsmithing traditions of antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance. From the outset, his ambition was not simply to revive historic techniques, but to reanimate them in a language at once exacting and modern. That ambition became the foundation of the house: surfaces patiently worked by hand through techniques such as rigato, telato, modellato, ornato, and segrinato, which endowed gold with an unmistakable tactile richness and gave Buccellati its enduring visual identity. An important chapter in Mario Buccellati's ascent was his friendship with Gabriele D'Annunzio, the celebrated poet and one of the great tastemakers of early twentieth-century Italy. More than a literary figure, D'Annunzio was a powerful arbiter of style, whose approval carried exceptional prestige in artistic and aristocratic circles. Their friendship, which began in 1922, culminated in 1936 when he hailed Buccellati as "The Prince of Goldsmiths"; a distinction that placed the jeweller within a wider Italian tradition of art, craftsmanship, and cultivated beauty. From the beginning, Buccellati belonged to a rarefied world of aristocratic elegance and refined patronage. Mario Buccellati's creations were admired by aristocrats and royal families, while he also supplied ornamental objects to the Pope and the great cardinals of Rome, securing the house a place within the highest circles of taste and ceremony. That aura of distinction has endured into the present. In more recent years, figures such as Beatrice Borromeo and Talita von Fürstenberg have appeared in connection with the Maison, extending its long association with poise, refinement, and cultivated style. Yet Buccellati's prestige rests not upon association alone, but upon the singularity of its creations: jewels whose engraved gold, openwork lightness, and historical craftsmanship lend them a character unlike that of any other house. The history of Buccellati after Mario is one of both continuity and transformation. International expansion had already begun during the founder's lifetime, when Luca Buccellati, Mario's eldest son, opened the first New York boutique in 1951. After Mario's death in 1965, his sons carried the family tradition forward in different ways: Gianmaria assumed the leading creative role, while Lorenzo and Federico contributed to the commercial development of the house in Italy. Although the Buccellati name was not always contained within a single unified company, its artistic identity remained remarkably coherent. Under Gianmaria Buccellati, the house expanded further into Hong Kong and Japan and, in 1979, established a boutique on Place Vendôme in Paris, becoming the first Italian jeweller to do so. Over the decades, Buccellati has extended its repertoire beyond jewellery into silver, watches, and bridal creations, while remaining anchored to the same essential principle: that precious materials achieve their highest expression not in excess, but in nuance. This is what gives Buccellati its distinctive place in the history of Italian jewellery. Its creations do not merely display splendour; they embody a cultivated ideal of beauty, shaped by the hand, enriched by history, and made enduring through style. Today, Buccellati remains closely bound to the family whose name it bears. Andrea Buccellati, Gianmaria's son, serves as Honorary Chairman and Creative Director, while Mariacristina, Luca, and Lucrezia Buccellati reflect the continuity of the family's presence within the Maison. Family memory, artistic discipline, and technical mastery thus remain inseparably intertwined.

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Of purplish-red hue, medium to dark tone, all well matched in colour, pits, nicks and minor chips visible under 10x magnification Clasp closing securely Signature Gianmaria Buccellati located on clasp + 18Kt + Made in Italy Italian registry mark + 750 located near clasp Normal signs of wear commensurate with age, overall in good condition Total gross weight approx. 60.5g