Historic Diamonds
The House Buccellati Built: High Jewelry Meets Italian Style
Step inside the Italian jewelry house where artistry, heritage, and style meet timeless craftsmanship.
Updated: September 24, 2025
Written by: Enrica Roddolo
Renaissance grace, exquisite craftsmanship, and Milanese ingenuity—in the end, Italian style. To tell the story of Buccellati, a family, a legacy of beauty and creativity quintessentially Italian, is to tell the story of Milan’s famed Teatro alla Scala. It was there, in a small shop opened in 1919, that founder Mario Buccellati began selling his “dreams.”
As Andrea Buccellati recalls: “Mario didn’t have enough money to display many jewels with precious stones in his windows, so instead he showed his sketches, his drawings. A master goldsmith and engraver, he would work on these designs and repeat to clients, ‘We are selling dreams.’”
Meet the Experts
Andrea Buccellati is widely regarded as one of the foremost experts in Italian high jewelry, carrying forward his family’s century-old legacy with unmatched artistry. With decades of experience as both designer and creative director, he combines deep knowledge of Renaissance-inspired techniques with a vision for modern luxury.
Luca Buccellati is an authority on the maison’s heritage and craftsmanship, representing the third generation of the legendary jewelry family. Drawing on decades of expertise, he bridges Buccellati’s Renaissance-inspired traditions with the evolving tastes of contemporary collectors.
Mario Buccellati and the Art of “Selling Dreams”
See Part Two Here
In Milan, Ancona-born Mario Buccellati’s ingenuity was in good company with brilliant creative minds, including renowned designer Gio Ponti and artists like Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carrà, and Giacomo Balla, all of whom contributed to the vibrant cultural environment where he found inspiration. From rings and necklaces sparkling with pure natural diamonds that captivated great women attending the Prima (the inaugural gala evening of each season at La Scala) to the tiaras that adorned Italian and international royalty, Buccellati’s signature touches—echoing Botticelli and Raphael—abound.
Always exhibiting exquisite craftsmanship and a mix of antique Italian Renaissance-inspired techniques and brilliant intuitions, designs like the Honeycomb, Tulle, and Rigato remind us of classical Italian style and elegance: precious with gold and gems, yet light like silk damask or brocade.
“And today we still work with the same techniques used by artisans who have been loyal to the maison for generations,” continues Andrea Buccellati. “The same attention to detail that my ancestor Mario used to imagine gold and diamond rings is used to design airy and precious architecture. It’s a team effort, and my daughter has helped develop new effortless everyday pieces of jewelry, thinking about her friends—a younger generation.”
Generations of Creativity
After Mario, the maison’s creative vision was carried forward by his son Gianmaria, and today by Andrea and Lucrezia. As Maria Cristina Buccellati notes, “creativity has always remained a family matter.”
Maria Cristina explained that her father, Gianmaria—an endlessly innovative spirit who drew inspiration from landscapes, works of art, or even a woman’s attitude—insisted on making no more than five of his famous Macri cuffs each year. This was regardless of the demand from jet-setters and celebrities across the U.S. and abroad. Of course, Gianmaria had promised one to Maria Cristina when she came of age.
Now into its third and fourth generations, the family’s story remains its greatest distinction. Across the decades, Italian art and style have been woven into extraordinary jewels, many preserved in the family’s private collection. Among them are treasures like the dragonfly brooch, originally designed by Mario Buccellati for his wife Maria, and the long ‘Ombelicali’ necklaces he created for his friend and muse, the celebrated Italian poet Gabriele D’Annunzio, both of which are now housed at the Buccellati Foundation.
From Milan to New York: Buccellati Goes Global
Once a Roaring Twenties signature, the aforementioned necklaces have since been reimagined. “They are absolutely contemporary for our times,” adds Luca Buccellati, who also recalls how the maison was the first Italian luxury brand to enter the U.S. market. After the Second World War, Mario, alongside Salvatore Ferragamo and Guccio Gucci, recognized the potential of going abroad to captivate consumers at the dawn of a new globalized world.
In 1951, Mario Buccellati opened his first New York boutique on 51st Street, followed by a second on Fifth Avenue. It marked the beginning of a long and storied Milan–New York connection. Today, while every piece remains meticulously hand-crafted, the jewelry house has expanded to 19 boutiques worldwide and a thriving online presence.
And, of course, interest in vintage pieces continues to grow. “We are constantly searching for them through auctions and sales,” explains Luca Buccellati, noting how “these creations were revolutionary in their time—bracelets that were flexible, airy, and light, yet still extraordinarily precious and sparkling with natural diamonds.”
Classic technique and innovation go hand in hand at the maison. One example is “black gold,” a new DLC treatment on white gold that creates a striking backdrop for diamonds, designed to appeal to both women’s and men’s tastes.
The Buccellati Diamond Cut: A Century of Excellence
For its centennial in 2019, the jewelry house boldly introduced a brand-new diamond cut. Certified by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the Buccellati Cut takes inspiration from the house’s flower-shaped logo and “the airy architecture of the Palazzo Ducale in Venice,” as Andrea Buccellati explains.
“A new natural diamond cut was the perfect way to celebrate,” Andrea recalls. “We asked specialist cutters in Antwerp to bring it to life, and the result is a stone sparkling with 57 perfectly proportioned facets, each one mirrored to optimize light.”
Inspired by flowers and nature, the Buccellati Cut also reflects the maison’s ongoing commitment to sustainability.
Why Buccellati Jewelry Remains Timeless Today
From its beginnings in 1919 in Milan to its global presence today, the Buccellati family has carried forward a distinctly Milanese dedication and sense of duty in preserving its legacy. From father to son, and now to new generations of artisans and goldsmiths, the maison continues to honor the great classics of the Renaissance while creating jewels that speak to a new generation of lovers of beauty.
