“‘Made in Italy’ is not a myth,” said Giordana Castellan, CEO of Giordana Castellan, a Vicenza-based jewellery brand creating collections with a dynamic fusion of the newest technology and traditional craftsmanship. “It is a real and true perception of a certain style which is appreciated and recognised worldwide, from the very first vision to the quality of final products. All the different production methods including casting, electroforming and chain-making have this denominator.”
Under the influence of the brand’s rich experience in goldsmithing in Vicenza especially Trissino which is one of Italy’s most famous districts for gold jewellery, Giordana Castellan gathered the knowledge and wrote a new chapter for Italian gold jewellery. Their first printed line and the recent electroforming collection have been a huge success in the United States and Spain.
Founded in 1926, Unoaerre is the first industrial goldsmith company in Arezzo, a world’s important goldsmith centre, and registered the trademark of the gold industry in the town as 1AR in 1934. Thanks to this long history and the efforts of generations of goldsmiths and designers, Unoaerre has gained world leadership in the sector, established first-class reputation for quality and reliability, and become one of world largest companies specialised in the production, distribution and export of gold and silver jewellery.
Company CEO Sergio Squarcialupi said that in an industry which relies heavily on reputation, their high standard of ethical principles and investments in creativity, high technologies and human resources have made a difference and helped them survive difficulties.
According to Squarcialupi, the company uses CNC machines, laser-cutting machines, CAD/CAM and 3D printers, and collects information of new technologies in the market for their production. Although the application of high technology has brought them the capability to develop new projects starting from an idea to a massive production, he still thinks that the knowhow of traditional goldsmith techniques is the base of all advanced technologies. It is their production team who transforms objects into jewellery admired by customers throughout the world. “You have to know how to produce manually in order to operate new processes or machines,” he added.
Likewise, Giordana Castellan told Hong Kong Jewellery that on one hand the skills of craftsmen ultimately determine the jewellery production, on the other, electroforming is an expression of the highest goldsmith technique, which makes latest technology machinery essential. Based on this, their practice is to combine technology with traditional craftsmanship. “Electroforming is nothing without the intervention of our goldsmiths who take the unpolished rough pieces out from the machine and enhance them with different finishing techniques by hands,” she explained.
Regarding the current tough situation of the jewellery industry amidst the economic downturn, Castellan revealed that the key is to consider it an opportunity or incentive instead of a negative fact. “Risk is nowadays imperative. The real challenge is to handle it with elegance. This means to translate the soul and nature of a collection into original shapes, colours and finishing to stimulate customers’ buying sentiment,” she said.
“It is very hard to make changes in the jewellery industry as it means a change of all machines and skills accordingly. Thus the approach to long-term development is to have a corporate identity,” said Enrico Bracciali, sales manager of Arezzo-based family business Prestige specialised in gold jewellery with 50 years of experience. Having seen the sluggish demand for gold jewellery recently, he noted that only two types of companies will have prospects: brands specialised in designs with creativity and companies focusing on production.
Prestige has chosen to be the former aiming to become an international jewellery brand. Apart from participating in different trade shows in the globe, they have cooperated with Chow Tai Fook (CTF) for two years and produced the company’s signature handmade 18-karat gold strap for Samsung Gear 2 Classic - Special Gold Edition jewellery smartwatch launched by CTF and Samsung early this year.
In virtue of the professional organisational structure, Unoaerre distributes products in over 40 countries and regions and has branches in New York City, Monte Carlo, London, Tokyo, San Paolo, Vienna, Paris, Amman, etc. In 2016, the company enters into their 90th anniversary. Focusing on maintaining the leadership in the wedding ring segment which was their original business and accounts for over 70 percent of all wedding rings sold within the Italian market, Unoaerre launched a new wedding collection 9.0 for the anniversary.
“We always look at new markets like Indonesia, Malaysia and South American countries, while still strive for keeping our market shares in the existing markets where the competition is very aggressive,” Sergio Squarcialupi emphasised.
“Future is now,” Giordana Castellan concluded. She predicts that there will always be a place for gold jewellery in the market as they are “the most classic and surprisingly common” medium declaring wearers’ feelings and personalities all along.
← Back