Behind the Scenes of the World’s Most Iconic Luxury Jewelers

GIA and French Connection Films/Quasar Multimedia hosted the U.S. West Coast premiere of Masters of Dreams on Sept. 18, 2013.

 

This fascinating four-part documentary series provides a rare look at 13 renowned jewelers around the world: Boucheron, Buccellati, Bulgari, Chaumet, Chopard, Damiani, De Beers Jewellery, Forevermark, Graff Diamonds, H. Stern, John Hardy, Stephen Webster and Verdura.

 

The films offer a behind-the-scenes view into the glamorous and artistic world of high-end jewelry. Filmmaker Ken McGrath, GIA GG, knew convincing prominent jewelry houses to open their doors for the cameras would be challenging, but he wanted to show jewelry lovers what is involved in designing and fabricating luxury pieces.

 

Masters of Dreams follows the journey from design concept to finished creation at each jewelry house. The films show who designs the jewelry, where they find their inspiration, the reasons behind their metal and gemstone choices and where they work. It includes in-depth interviews with the people behind the brand and explores the values each brand reflects.

 

The production quality and attention to detail in each segment is outstanding. Viewers will find the stories and processes ‒ such as watching a designer create their vision on paper and artisans crafting and engraving metals ‒ interesting and inspiring. 

 

Consumers will enjoy seeing how high-end jewelry is created. Gemologists will appreciate watching how gems are incorporated into jewelry. Designers and manufacturers will benefit from the chance to see how these firms create and maintain their success.

 

Episode one, The Italian Jewellers, showcases the prominent Italian jewelry firms of Damiani, Bulgari and Buccellati. It was shown at the premiere held at GIA’s world headquarters in Carlsbad.

 

Damiani:

This family business was founded in 1924 by Enrico Grassi Damiani in Valenza, an important jewelry manufacturing center in Italy. Following in the footsteps of their grandfather, Guido, Giorgio and Silva Damiani run the company. Their jewelry designs have received many prestigious awards and they have been recognized for their involvement in humanitarian projects. Several celebrities have collaborated with Damiani to produce special pieces for the company’s high-profile clientele.

 

Giorgio Damiani, inspired by the film Burlesque starring Christina Aguilera and Cher, asked designer Christina Bagnari to create something special using the costumes as her inspiration. The segment follows the entire process, beginning with Bagnari’s sketches and her collaboration with one of their graphic designers to create a 3-D model. Giorgio Damiani sourced the diamonds in Antwerp and the set is complete, including a clasp on the bracelet that closes it like an actual corset. It was worn by actress Sharon Stone at a press event for the reopening of Damiani’s boutique in Milan.

 

Bulgari:

Sotirios Voulgaris, a Greek silver merchant, traveled to Rome in the 1880s and opened a small boutique that has since become an empire, the renowned house of Bulgari. Now owned by LVMH, his grandsons Paolo and Nicolo Bulgari still supervise the creation of the jewels today.

 

“Colored stones, to Bulgari, are like colors to a painter,” says Lucia Silvestri, Bulgari’s gemstone buyer, in the film. She describes the creative process that went into setting an extraordinary 165-carat sapphire. She initially planned to alternate blue and green gems in a delicate design, but decided instead to set it in a bold piece featuring multiple strands of red, orange, blue and green gems. The finished necklace was displayed at the Biennale des Antiquaires in Paris.

 

Filmmakers also captured the excitement during the auction of the Elizabeth Taylor Collection in New York. Taylor discovered Bulgari while working on the film “Cleopatra” in Rome in 1962. To celebrate their wedding, Richard Burton purchased the “Seven Wonders,” a necklace set with seven Colombian emeralds totaling 188 carats. He also purchased an incredible 65-carat Burmese sapphire sautoir for her 40th birthday.

 

Amanda Triossi went with Silvestri to the Taylor auction to buy back these two exceptional Bulgari pieces that represent Bulgari’s design aesthetic: colored gems as the prominent feature, along with rounded shapes, cabochon-cut gemstones and symmetrical designs. The two successfully acquired the pieces – after tense bouts of bidding ‒ and the iconic necklaces were included in Bulgari’s retrospective exhibition, “125 years of Italian Excellence,” curated by Triossi in Shanghai.  

 

Buccellati:

The jewelry house Buccellati has been crafting fine jewelry in Milan since 1919. Still a family business, Gianmaria Buccellati, son of founder Mario Buccellati, describes how jewels originate in his mind before he creates life-size drawings by hand. His intricate designs are usually one-of-a-kind pieces, but are occasionally made in limited productions.

 

Buccellati is inspired by nature and the architecture of the Renaissance period. He sometimes creates jewels in the form of animals using baroque pearls as the body as was popular during that period. His signature pieces often have the look and feel of fine lace and fabric. Metal surfaces are hand-engraved and embellished. Quality is of the utmost importance to Buccellatti.

 

Masters of Dreams follows the creative process from Gianmaria Buccellati’s initial rendering to the finished necklace. Master craftsmen use traditional techniques to execute his striking designs. Just as creativity has been passed down from generation to generation, quality craftsmanship has too. Buccellati employs only two jewelers, Roberto Brown and his son Christiano, and together they manufacture these difficult, complex pieces.

 

Cathy Jonathan is a graduate gemologist and a research librarian at the Richard T. Liddicoat Library and Information Center in Carlsbad.