Damiani jewellery, a family story

Penking a jewel is the work of those who it lives between two worlds: from the thousand-year-old material of precious metals and gems, to the invisible dream of those who choose it. Already over the years Twenty years ago the goldsmith Enrico Grassi Damiani brought his dreams into very modern collections. Like those Belle Époque jewels inspired by the shape of the first films, which contained his love for cinema. Celebrating stars as loved as the diamonds in the jewels he created for the country’s greatest families.

Damiani, from family to the world

What began in 1924 as a splendid Italian family business today has no boundaries… Around the world, every 2 minutes, a Damiani jewel is purchased. «My grandfather was born in 1904. Due to his poor health, he did not go to war and in his Valenza, with his jewelery atelier, he immediately became known by serving the greatest noble families of the time from Turin to Genoa, for whom only pieces were created exclusive: they were even given the wax, to guarantee its uniqueness!» says Silvia Grassi Damiani, heir to the family brand with her brothers Guido and Giorgio. A legacy carried with pride, aware of how, in the world of jewellery, still being a family brand in the hands of the founders is now a rarity. From their parents Damiano (Enrico’s son) and Gabriella, they had the honor of learning almost everything.

«When my grandfather died in 1955 of a rapid illness, my father was not yet 21 years old. Having become the man of the family, he did not join the military and immediately began working in a company that my grandfather had recently expanded, creating some debts: he did not imagine leaving so soon. They married my mother in 1959 saying “Now let’s make a nice honeymoon, but then we will have to work a lot.” He had the ambition to create a real brand that bore his name, for seven years they really worked day and night.”

Strong and smiling, Damiano Grassi Damiani personally committed himself constantly, traveling among the jewelery shops of Italy with three suitcases of pieces created by his artisans, forcing himself not to let a day pass without having made at least one sale. Gabriella then began to take care of the organizational part. «But from the mid-eighties until 2014 you also dedicated yourself to customers, to the jewelers most closely linked to the brand. He called them for Christmas remembering everything, even the names of his children and grandchildren».

Meanwhile Damiano followed every step of the production, up to the work of each creative. Carrying out the will of that father who was a boyin addition to cinema, he had also dreamed of royalty: dedicated to the Queen was the design of the “Margherita” jewellery, rediscovered and revived to inspire the current collection. «As the firstborn I was lucky enough to watch and learn. I played with some jewelry, my favorite was a green pony brooch with diamonds and emeralds. The first jewel? I got it when I was eighteen. In reality I had been given a beautiful communion bracelet, but I lost it while playing, I was terribly disappointed! Now I have my jewels, of course, and those inherited from my mother. She was a sober woman who carried every creation very well. A few weeks ago, in Zurich for a Bocelli concert, I wore some of her designs. It seemed to me that she was there too, with me. Some of hers were gifts from my father, she had a lot of fun with this: she would hide her gift until she gave up, thinking she would never find it… and only then would he give her some clues!

In 1996, Damiano Damiani passed away prematurely and the management of a company had already reached 200 employees passes to his wife and three children. «Obviously we are all gemologists, we divided the tasks naturally. Passionate about marketing and communications, my father entrusted me with that sector, which I still follow today. Giorgio already supported him in the part linked to product development and the purchase of stones. Guido, active in commercial development, took over from my father who, already in 1985, had thought of expanding the brand with the creation of Salvini: he received many requests from jewelers interested in Damiani and to maintain its exclusivity he created another different brand , transversal, slightly more accessible”.

Thanks to its children, the Group expands with the Bliss brand dedicated to younger people, then also acquiring the Rocca and Calderoni jewelers and, in 2016, the historic Murano glassware brand, Venini. Another boast? Being the only goldsmith company in the world to have won 18 Diamonds International Awards (the international jewelry Oscar) with creations also designed by Gabriella and her children. «We are aware that we are carrying forward a dream: dad dreamed of opening many shops, today he would love to see them in London or in a place close to his heart, the Ginza district of Tokyo».

A dream that would have enchanted grandfather Enrico? The relationship with Damiani’s many celebrity lovers, cultivated by Silvia during the years she lived in Los Angeles. First among the stars, Sophia Loren (“Born in 1934 like my father, she was one of the first actresses for whom we created splendid jewels, with whom we have a beautiful relationship”). In the future, who knows, there will be them, those seven cousins ​​(from 8 to twenty years old) born to Guido, Giorgio and Silvia: «We are a brand in all respects. I understand it every time abroad they recognize one of my jewels when I wear it, or when I see them worn by women all over the world… yes, it’s something that still excites me!».

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