Mario Buccellati Thistle
Vintage 1960s Italian Brooches
18k Gold
Vintage 1950s Italian Modern Brooches
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
People Also Browsed
Vintage 1920s American Art Deco Pendant Necklaces
Coral, Diamond, Jade, Onyx, Platinum
Vintage 1920s Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
20th Century Retro Brooches
Diamond, White Diamond, Ruby, 9k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Brooches
Citrine, Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1960s Italian Retro Cocktail Rings
Chrysoberyl, Diamond, 18k Gold
20th Century Cocktail Rings
Vintage 1980s Italian Brooches
Emerald, Pearl, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Modern Bracelets
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Antique Late 19th Century Russian Art Nouveau Desk Accessories
Rose Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1920s French Art Deco Beaded Necklaces
Natural Pearl, Pearl, White Diamond, Diamond, Platinum, White Gold, 18k ...
21st Century and Contemporary Chain Necklaces
Diamond, Onyx, Rose Gold
Early 2000s American Contemporary Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Vintage 1960s French Link Bracelets
Diamond, Ruby, Platinum
Vintage 1980s American Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, Platinum, Gold
Vintage 1970s French Engagement Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold
Recent Sales
20th Century Italian More Earrings
Gold
20th Century Italian Brooches
Gold
Vintage 1970s Italian Brooches
18k Gold, Silver
Vintage 1970s Italian Baroque Revival Brooches
18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold, Sterling Silver
Vintage 1960s Italian Brooches
18k Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Brooches
Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Silver
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Brooches
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Silver
Vintage 1980s Italian Contemporary Brooches
Gold
Vintage 1970s Italian Brooches
Rose Gold, Silver, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s Italian Brooches
Vintage 1980s Brooches
Silver, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s Italian Brooches
18k Gold, Silver
Late 20th Century Italian More Earrings
18k Gold
20th Century Italian Brooches
18k Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Brooches
18k Gold
Mario Buccellati Thistle For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Mario Buccellati Thistle?
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 brooches for You
Vintage brooches, which refer to decorative jewelry traditionally pinned to garments and used to fasten pieces of clothing together where needed, have seen increasing popularity in recent years.
While jewelry trends come and go, brooches are indeed back on the radar thanks to fashion houses like Gucci, Versace, Dior and Saint Laurent, all of which feature fun pinnable designs in their current collections. Whether a dazzlingly naturalistic Art Nouveau dragonfly, a whimsical David Webb animal, a gem-studded bloom or a streamlined abstract design, these jewels add color and sparkle to your look and a spring to your step.
Given their long history, brooches have expectedly taken on a variety of different shapes and forms over time, with jewelers turning to assorted methods of ornamentation for these accessories, including enameling and the integration of pearls and gemstones. Cameo brooches that originated during the Victorian age are characterized by a shell carved in raised relief that feature portraits of a woman’s profile, while 19th-century micromosaic brooches, comprising innumerable individually placed glass fragments, sometimes feature miniature depictions of a pastoral scene in daily Roman life.
At one time, brooches were symbols of wealth, made primarily from the finest metals and showcasing exquisite precious gemstones. Today, these jewels are inclusive and universal, and you don’t have to travel very far to find an admirer of brooches. They can be richly geometric in form, such as the ornate diamond pins dating from the Art Deco era, or designer-specific, such as the celebrated naturalistic works created by Tiffany & Co., the milk glass and gold confections crafted by Trifari or handmade vintage Chanel brooches of silk or laminated sheer fabric. Chanel, of course, has never abandoned this style, producing gorgeously baroque CC examples since the 1980s.
Brooches are versatile and adaptable. These decorative accessories can be worn in your hair, on hats, scarves and on the lower point of V-neck clothing. Pin a dazzling brooch to the lapel of your blazer-and-tee combo or add a cluster of smaller pins to your overcoat. And while brooches have their place in “mourning jewelry,” in that a mourning brooch is representative of your connection to a lost loved one, they’re widely seen as romantic and symbolic of love, so much so that a hardcore brooch enthusiast might advocate for brooches to be worn over the heart.
Today, find a wide variety of antique and vintage brooches for sale on 1stDibs, including gold brooches, sapphire brooches and more.