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Buccellati Suite Created by Mario Buccellati Himself, $450k Official Evaluation

Name: Buccellati Suite Created by Mario Buccellati Himself, $450k Official Evaluation
Brand: Mario Buccellati
Price: 123750 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Free your inner maximalist with this extraordinary one-of-a-kind suit of jewels created by Mario Buccellati's own hands. Complete parures created by the iconic Italian master goldsmith Mario Buccellati himself are so rare, I have never seen another full suite for sale, not even on the official Buccellati website. This could suggest they do not have such a suite, created by the founder himself. Widely considered one of the finest and most skilled goldsmiths of all time, Mario Buccelatti's creations are individual works of art. A Buccellati jewel is instantly recognizable by the intricate, elaborate texturing of the gold and the extraordinary gems set within the piece. Some of his jewels took Mr. Buccellati over a year to create. He used Rennesance-era tools to create his works and invented several unique tools himself, available to nobody else. Allowing him to create lines, textures, grooves, curves, and finishes that only he could create. This exceedingly rare and ravishing suite of original and signed Mario Buccellati jewels consists of an approximately 16" necklace, a 7 ¾" bracelet, and a pair of 1" square clip earrings, all of which are set with dazzling old-mine cut diamonds. Each jewel has been created with a series of thick (2.20mm) 18K yellow gold panels, hand-tooled into a floral and foliate motif. These exquisite panels are joined together with foliate oval links. The necklace, bracelet, and earrings all have a width of 1" making the proportions of this suite perfect. The workmanship is peerless. At the center of each panel is an old-mine cut diamond. Every hand-cut diamond is prong-set and surrounded by a constellation of eight tiny old rose-cut diamonds, each nestled within its own rub-over mounting. The 18 old-mine cut diamonds weigh approximately 24 carats and the 144 rose-cut diamonds add up to another 3 carats for a total approximate diamond weight of 27 carats. Old mine cut diamonds like these cannot be graded on the modern "4 C's" scale. The diamonds here were individually selected for their fire, color, and character. Most are "fancy" light yellow; several others would be classified as XYZ. Please note: there is no GIA certification for the diamonds because the GIA does not grade loose diamonds and I would never remove these stones from their precious mounting. And yet, it is not the extraordinary diamonds that are the star of the show here; but rather the absolutely astounding goldsmithing. Mario Buccellati is known to have used goldsmithing tools from the Renaissance era as well as creating some of his own innovative and unique tools, available to nobody else. He used these tools with his genius to create the distinctive three-dimensionality for which his jewels are known. Not one millimeter has been left "unworked" by the master Buccellati. The textures he has created are so astonishing because even though the floral and foliate motif is a repeating pattern, each was done entirely by hand and without the use of any stamps or presses. Every leaf and every flower petal is completely hand-carved and unique even though seemingly identical elements abound. When you inspect the piece in person, no matter how much finery you have seen in this lifetime, you will experience awe. This suite was acquired at an auction and a discussion with the then-president of the company failed to provide details on who might have owned such a suite of jewels. Queen Maria Cristina of Spain was known to have commissioned jewels by Buccellati; one would assume there are many Buccellati jewels in royal houses throughout Europe. The necklace could be worn as a tiara if your jeweler creates a slender gold wire scaffolding for it; the construction of the earrings is such that each can be worn as an individual pendant. So clever, versatile, and regal. Jewels are simply no longer created like this. It's the Breaker's Mansion of parures; the skills required to create such a work of art exist no more. I have encountered no other complete parure by Mario Buccellati. This is a rare opportunity to acquire a suite of jewels created by one of history's most celebrated jewelers. A shockingly beautiful masterpiece.

Creator:

Metal:

Stone:

Stone Cut:

Weight:

331 g

Dimensions:

Width: 1 in (25.4 mm)

Style:

Renaissance Revival

Period:

1950-1959

Date of Manufacture:

circa 1950s

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use.

Seller Location:

Southbury, CT

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU1589120504972

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Shop All Mario Buccellati

Mario Buccellati

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.