Seven generations of goldsmith art and passion for Gismondi 1754
In the Vela collection, the 270-year-old Genoa-born company's connection with the sea is also focused on high jewellery pieces
3' min read
3' min read
One can speak of a Gismondi DNA in jewellery. Not only because the goldsmith house founded by Giovan Battista Gismondi in Genoa in 1754, who also supplied the prestigious Doria family and the Vatican in the figure of Pope Pius VI, is now in its seventh generation.
But also because with Massimo Gismondi, the family jewellery business has turned towards art and the highest expression of craftsmanship. The opening of shops in Portofino and St. Moritz, dealers in Naples and St. Petersburg, cornershops in the major outlets of the Neiman Marcus luxury circuit in the United States, as well as a shop in Prague's glittering Parizska Street underline the international success of the Gismondi 1754 dna. Because of the uniqueness and beauty of the collections, the jewellery has been chosen by Hollywood: Jane Fonda, Angela Bassett, Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow are just a few of the film stars who wear them often and willingly, and they certainly applauded the awarding, at the recent Couture Design Award 2024 in Las Vegas, of the Design Award for the Fenice diamond necklace (the necklace is made of diamonds for one hundred carats.
It is no coincidence that the United States is Gismondi's first market - a shop-in-shop has just been opened at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York -, but the Middle East and Far East are also destinations destined to offer great satisfaction with the inauguration of a franchised sales outlet on Pearl Island in Doha, Qatar, and by virtue of a distribution agreement reached for the South Pacific with Ippo Group Limited based in Hong Kong, just as in Japan the veil has been removed on a new shop-in-shop in Tokyo's fashionable Ginza.
Massimo Gismondi is satisfied with the results achieved: "Given the current geopolitical situation, which slows down the propensity to spend especially in the luxury sector, I am comforted by the sales result, which is substantially in line with last year. In such an uncertain market, our recent opening of the market in the Pacific," said the CEO of Gismondi 1754, "is aimed at intercepting the growth of purchases in that area, which is expected by many analysts to be against the trend compared to the rest of the world. In addition, I believe that the opening of the new shop-in-shop at Sacks NY and the organisational restructuring currently being implemented in the United States will allow us to closely and confidently observe the recovery of consumption in the American market".
An example of Gismondi 1754's soft attention to detail is the Vela collection inspired by sea voyages, which has been enriched with new pendant earrings consisting of a play on rose gold clasps and a version with diamonds that create a central point around the shape of the jewel in an elegant design perspective. Interpreting a common object in its most artistic form is one of the hallmarks of this high jewellery brand whose creations all take shape from a unique piece and are tailor-made. In the case of Vela, it all started with the carabiner: 'The sea has always been my source of inspiration,' reiterates Massimo Gismondi. 'I was born with it and for me it is essential to look at it whenever I can, as well as to experience it actively. An outing on a sailing boat, gazing into infinity is also an opportunity to reflect on the little things'. Centuries of craftsmanship and history continue to sail, now also with the prestigious Vendorafa brand brought on board.
