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.
Italian Rectangular Sterling Silver Jewelry Cigarette Box
By Mario Buccellati
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
This impressive Italian sterling box would work as a jewelry box, cigarette box as well as a trinket box. Signed Buccellati.
Sterling Silver
$3,600Sale Price / set|20% Off
Set of two Sterling Silver Cigarette Cases 19th and 20 Century, Mario Buccellat
By Mario Buccellati
Located in North Miami, FL
A set of two Italian Sterling silver cigarette cases from the 19th and 20th century. They have hand-stamped details and are engraved with flowers and scrolling acanthus. One of them ...
Silver, Sterling Silver
Rectangular silver-gilded cigarette case
Located in Porto, PT
Description: Rectangular gilded silver cigarette case in filigree mesh with inscription. Metal: Silver. Origin: Portuguese. Brand: Eagle Head. Weight: 119.08 grams. Dimensions: 11.3c...
Silver
20th Century Italian Round Sterling Silver Jewelry Box
By Pampaloni
Located in VALENZA, IT
Round shape sterling silver jewelry box. The simplicity of the forms and the harmony of the proportions make it suitable for all settings. The lid of the jewelry box has a knob hand...
Sterling Silver
20th Century Italian Sterling Silver Table Box
By Pampaloni
Located in VALENZA, IT
Rectangular/octagonal table box in 925 silver. The box was completely handmade in Florence at the end of the last century. Engraved with floral and abstract motifs, it has been fin...
Sterling Silver
$16,266Sale Price|20% Off
H 1.58 in Dm 7.68 in
20th Century Sterling Silver Italian Gilded and Enameled Table Box
By Salimbeni
Located in VALENZA, IT
Round haped silver gilded 925/1000 table box with translucent enamels on guilloche with hand-painted floral miniatures and gold paillons Made in Italy 1.400 grams The Miniatures are hand-painted on a usually white homogeneous enamel base. The same colored glazes are used, but ground much finer, which are mixed with special oils to form an infinite palette of colors. The paint must be gradually dried on electric stoves...
Sterling Silver
Lobster jewelry box, silver plated, Italy, 1950's
Located in BARCELONA, ES
Exquisite sculptural lobster form box realistically rendered, crafted in Italy, 1950's. Made to look like a real lobster crawling with movement masterfully with sharp detail and exec...
Silver Plate
$7,000
H 1.75 in W 6.25 in D 4.25 in
Faberge Style Guilloche Enamel Sterling Silver Decorative Box/Cigarettes Case
Located in Guaynabo, PR
This is Faberge style rectangular patinated 925 silver metal decorative box/cigarette case. It depicts a heavy hinged box very well ornamented. The top of the lid is covered by an octagonal shaped emerald green translucent guilloche enamel in the center. Over it, the Russian Double Headed Eagle...
Sterling Silver
$3,201
H 0.4 in W 3.12 in D 3.23 in
Antique German Solid Silver and Enamel Erotic Cigarette Case c. 1900
Located in London, GB
A beautiful antique German solid Silver Cigarette Case with an enamel image on the front cover. This image shows a woman gazing at three lush pink roses with her translucent gown dra...
Enamel, Silver
20th Century Italian Sterling Silver Jewelry Box
By Arval Argenti Valenza
Located in VALENZA, IT
Jewelry box in 925 sterling silver. The body of the box is rectangular and shaped which makes its line light and harmonious. The hinged lid is hand-engraved with volutes and Florentine lilies...
Sterling Silver
$2,445
H 1.97 in W 7.09 in D 3.55 in
Art Deco Sterling Silver Cigarette Box by Edward Barnard & Sons, London 1936
By Edward Barnard & Sons
Located in London, London
Hallmarked in London in 1936 by Edward Barnard & Sons Ltd, this refined George VI sterling silver cigarette box has a plain rectangular form. Reflecting the clean, minimalist aes...
Sterling Silver
$4,456Sale Price|28% Off
H 3.94 in W 11.03 in D 7.88 in
20th Century Italian Sterling Silver Ceased Table Box
By Argenterie Lala
Located in VALENZA, IT
Oblong sterling silver hinged table box. The body of the box is smooth. The lid is smooth with embossed bellflowers The lid is embossed and chiseled with bellflowers-shaped motifs Th...
Sterling Silver
Mid-Century Sterling Silver Cigarette Box, Art Deco, 1940s
Located in Queens, NY
English Mid-Century (1940s) sterling silver rectangular (cigarette) box with fluted etched design and initials: A.M.G.
Sterling Silver
20th Century Italian Round Sterling Silver Jewelry Box
By Pampaloni
Located in VALENZA, IT
Round shape sterling silver jewelry box. The simplicity of the forms and the harmony of the proportions make it suitable for all settings. The lid of the jewelry box has a knob hand...
Sterling Silver
Onyx Marble Rectangular Jewelry Box Italy 1950s Brass Foot
Located in Palermo, Sicily
Solid onyx marble jewelry box with gilded brass foot Italy 1950s
Onyx
Italian Rectangular Green Onyx Jewelry Box 1950s
Located in Palermo, Sicily
Minimalist style box made of Green onyx marble.
Onyx
$4,258
H 0.99 in W 4.14 in D 2.37 in
Rectangular table cigarette case two-tone fire-enamelled stripes Salimbeni.
By Franco Salimbeni, Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Rectangular table cigarette case with rounded upper long sides, in 925/100 sterling silver and two-tone fire-enamelled stripes in a modern contemp...
Sterling Silver, Enamel
Sold
H 1.38 in W 7.88 in D 5.91 in
Italian 20th Century Sterling Silver Mario Buccellati Rectangular Table Box
By Mario Buccellati
Located in VALENZA, IT
Rectangular boxes in sterling silver made by Mario Buccellati in Milan in the 1950s. The surface is hand-engraved with a knurled finish. The glossy finished interior is embellished ...
Sterling Silver
Italian Silver Box of Islamic Interest by Mario Buccellati
By Mario Buccellati
Located in London, GB
This beautifully decorated rectangular box is made of solid silver and bears an engraved scene of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia- the second most holy site in Islam. Th...
Silver
Engraved Silver Box of Medina by Mario Buccellati
By Mario Buccellati
Located in London, GB
This exquisite box is of square form and crafted in solid silver. The upper panel is engraved with a rooftop view of the Green Dome in Medina, Saudi Arabia. The Green Dome was built to cover the site of the tomb of the prophet Muhammad...
Silver