Mario Buccellati Sterling Silver Tray
Early 20th Century Italian Neoclassical Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver
Vintage 1970s Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Italian Hollywood Regency Sterling Silver
Silver
Vintage 1960s Italian Platters and Serveware
Sterling Silver
People Also Browsed
Antique 1890s German Dinner Plates
Porcelain
20th Century French Floor Lamps
Crystal
Vintage 1930s English Art Deco Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver
Antique Early 1800s English George III Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver
Antique 1890s Chinese Chinese Export Sterling Silver
Silver
Late 20th Century Italian Baroque Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver
Antique 1890s English Edwardian Tray Tables
Mahogany, Satinwood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Silver
Antique 19th Century English Sterling Silver
Silver, Sterling Silver
Antique 1830s Scottish Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver
Antique 19th Century Italian Sterling Silver
Silver, Sterling Silver
Vintage 1920s English Rococo Tea Sets
Silver, Silver Plate, Sterling Silver, Silver Leaf
Antique 19th Century Italian Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century Platters and Serveware
Silver
20th Century American Edwardian Sterling Silver
Silver
Antique 1870s English Victorian Pottery
Pottery
Recent Sales
20th Century Italian Rococo Revival Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver
Vintage 1960s Italian Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver
Vintage 1970s Italian Platters and Serveware
20th Century Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver
Vintage 1970s Italian Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver
Mario Buccellati for sale on 1stDibs
A love of tradition set Mario Buccellati and his fine jewelry house apart in the competitive Italian market and remains a point of pride for the family.
In 1919, Mario launched Buccellati with the opening of his first shop in Milan and quickly built a reputation for his richly embellished traforato, or finely pierced goldwork. The Ancona, Italy–born jeweler’s workmanship was in a class of its own. His rings, earrings, bracelets and other accessories were exquisite, yet the gemstones themselves were never too flashy, elevated instead by the designs’ intricate metalsmithing.
Today the Buccellati family is still closely tied to the business even as it is now owned by Richemont, a luxury conglomerate that also counts Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels among its subsidiaries.
A young Mario Buccellati apprenticed with famed goldsmith Beltrami e Besnati in the early 1900s, although many of the goldsmithing techniques synonymous with Buccellati go as far back as the Italian Renaissance. The family lineage is also said to include 18th-century jeweler Contardo Buccellati.
Owing to the founder’s advanced metalworking skills, the brand is known for designs that feature metal with the delicacy of lace and draw on the wonders of the natural world. The house’s work is typified by intricate gemstone settings that emphasize their natural color and dense engraving techniques that transform the texture of gold.
One of the time-honored engraving techniques that has come to characterize Buccellati’s work — techniques that require apprenticeships and training in the fine jeweler’s workshops — is called rigato. It involves the engraving of a precious metal with a series of parallel lines to achieve a fabric-like effect.
Rigato is on luminous display in the house’s Macri collection of earrings, cuff bracelets and other accessories. A painstaking attention to detail is pronounced in the celebrated Macri, Bartolomeo and Unica collections — witness the striking honeycomb motif, a house signature, that characterizes the Unica collection’s Caterina bracelet, for example.
The Macri collection was the work of Mario’s son, Gianmaria Buccellati, an award-winning jeweler and internationally renowned silversmith who worked to bring the brand to the global stage by overseeing the opening of boutiques in Tokyo, Paris, California and elsewhere.
In 1951, Mario opened his first store in New York City; today the company operates boutiques worldwide. In 2019, the company celebrated its centennial with a new flagship in Paris and the Vintage collection, which features some of its most enduring designs.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of authentic Mario Buccellati jewelry today.
Finding the Right sterling-silver for You
Dining and entertaining changed drastically when we began to set our tables with sterling silver for holiday gatherings, wedding receptions, engagement parties and, in some of today’s homes, everyday meals.
Often called the “Queen of metals,” silver has been universally adored for thousands of years. It is easy to see why it has always been sought after: It is durable, strong and beautiful. (Louis XIV had tables made entirely of silver.) Sterling silver is an alloy that is made of 92.5 percent silver — the “925” stamp that identifies sterling-silver jewelry refers to this number. The other 7.5 percent in sterling silver is typically sourced from copper.
Neoclassical-style sterling-silver goods in Europe gained popularity in the late 18th century — a taste for sterling-silver tableware as well as tea sets had taken shape — while in the United States, beginning in the 19th century, preparing the dinner table with sterling-silver flatware had become somewhat of a standard practice. Indeed, owning lots of silver goods during the Victorian era was a big deal. Back then, displaying fine silver at home was a status symbol for middle-class American families. And this domestic silver craze meant great profitability for legendary silversmith manufacturers such as Reed & Barton, Gorham Manufacturing Company and the International Silver Company, which was incorporated in Meriden, Connecticut, in 1898, a major hub of silver manufacturing nicknamed “Silver City.”
Today, special occasions might call for ceremonial silver designed by Tiffany & Co. or the seductive sterling-silver cutlery from remarkable Danish silversmith Georg Jensen, but there really doesn’t have to be an event on the calendar to trot out your finest tableware.
Event- and wedding-planning company maestro Tara Guérard says that some “investment pieces,” such as this widely enamored alloy, should see everyday use, and we’re inclined to agree.
“Sterling-silver flatware is a must-have that you can use every single day, even to eat cereal,” she says. “Personally, I want a sterling-silver goblet set for 12 to 20; I would use them every time I had a dinner party. Ultimately, there are no criteria for buying vintage pieces: Buy what you love, and make it work.”
Whether you’re thinking “ceremonial” or “cereal,” browse a versatile collection of vintage, new and antique sterling-silver wares on 1stDibs today.