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| Gold ring inspired by The Spider's Web by Mikhail Larionov (pictured below) |
Buccellati unveiled a jewelry collection Thursday inspired by the individual works of five master artists from the impressionist and post-impressionist periods. The five one-of-a-kind pieces designed by, Andrea Buccellati, president and creative director, and his 25-year-old daughter, Lucrezia Buccellati, the first woman to be a designer for Buccellati and its youngest family member to be given the title, are based masterpieces from Claude Monet, Pierre Bonnard, Winslow Homer, Mikhail Larionov and Odilon Redon.
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| Gold bracelet inspired by Winslow Homer's Light Blue Sea at Prout's Neck (pictured below) |
It will be shown in an exhibition format during the grand opening of its flagship at 714 Madison Avenue Thursday March 12. Entitled “Timeless Blue,” the evening will support the restoration foundation, Save Venice. The new pieces will be displayed with the painting that provided the inspiration.
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| Gold earrings inspired by Claude Monet's Tempête sur les cotes de Belle-Ile (pictured below) |
Andrea explained the color blue is very important to Buccellati.
“The blue color reflects the historical roots of Buccellati and has nothing to do with the blue period of Impressionism,” he said. “With the new rebranding of the company we have wanted to preserve many of the historical concepts of Buccellati, and the blue color is one of them.”
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| Gold earrings inspired by Odilon Redon's La Chute de Phaéton (pictured below) |
Andrea said even though the jewelry created for the flagship opening event had international influences, it wasn’t an attempt to create a more international image.
“Lucrezia and I were particularly inspired by the impressionist and post-impressionist time periods. We had at our disposal, some different masters and works of art to choose from. Specifically, Lucrezia was inspired by the works of art of Winslow Homer and Odilon Redon,” he said.
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| Pendant necklace inspired by Pierre Bonnard's Deux Vases de fleurs (pictured below) |
“My inspiration to create jewels has never had geographic boundaries,” he added. “Lucrezia’s inspiration comes more from different cultures and traditions from around the world. Being based in New York helps, as it is a city with a mixture of people from all different parts of the world.”
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| The creative team, Andrea Buccellati and his daughter, Lucrezia |
The new five-story retail store was the former home of French jeweler, Mauboussin. Andrea said this space represents a new design conceived and developed with architectural firm, Vudafieri Saverino Partners. It is defined by wood floors, plush white and cream-colored furnishings and neutral colors highlighted by modern artistic touches.
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| Inside the new Buccellati New York flagship |
“The New York flagship perfectly represents the new concept of Buccellati and thanks to the dimensions of the New York space, we will have the possibility to express it at its best,” Andrea said. “We have succeeded in maintaining the concept of Buccellati’s traditional style combined with a more modern sobriety and elegance. I think this new essential look will emphasize the unique and incomparable style of our creations, and they will finally stand out with all their beauty.”
Andrea explained that its previous space on Madison Avenue was a temporary solution while the new five-story space will be its permanent home in New York.
“After the move of our townhouse at 57th Street, due to a new real estate project, we wanted to find a new place to reside on Madison Avenue,” he said. “It was hard to immediately find the right place for Buccellati, the place we felt we deserved. Therefore we found a temporary solution at 810 Madison Avenue in order to wait until something more exciting could be found.”
In 2014, the Mauboussin space opened up and Andrea said it had the size to properly show its pieces and the elegance that reflects the brand.
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| The facade of the new Buccellati flagship on Madison Avenue |
“This new space is the best we could have imagined for ourselves on Madison Avenue,” he said. “We are among all the important jewelers of the world present on Madison and we could not miss being there. It matches the prestige of our brand…. This move marks the expansion of the brand here in the U.S. as well as the evolution of the brand further into the 21st Century.”
Andrea explained the first floor will be dedicated to jewelry, watches and some silver pieces. The second floor will host silverware and its new collection of bridal rings, released a year ago as a new category for the jeweler.
“The bridal world is an important segment in jewelry, and it will give us the possibility to offer our clients a wider range of choices mostly focused on young couples,” he said. “At the same time, these young couples will have the chance to admire the silver pieces for table and home decoration, which have always been crucial as bridal presents.”
The third floor will be dedicated to vintage products and historical items of the high jewelry house; and serve as a place to privately meet with clients.
The fourth floor is for exhibitions of special collections, while the fifth floor will be dedicated to the “Buccellati Club,” a place to host friends and clients for a drink, breakfast or dinner.
“The dimensions of the boutique, the entire space will be exploited in the best way to express all our savoir-faire and the world of Buccellati,” Andrea said.
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