Vhernier, sculpture-jewellery focuses on Asia

He has already spent 10 years at Buccellati, bringing a niche brand, albeit with a long history, to be one of the most interesting and fast-growing in the industry. And although he remains its vice-president ("I am following the project to expand the ateliers"), since last September another challenge has opened up for Gianluca Brozzetti: to repeat the same success with Vhernier. Eight months ago, in fact, came the closing of the operation that brought the brand founded in Valenza in 1984, and since 2001 taken over by the Traglio family, into the Richemont group. Since then, Brozzetti has been executive vice-president and managing director of Vhernier: "Richemont saw a great opportunity in completing its portfolio with a 'different' Italian jewellery brand," he explains. "The diversity of Vhernier is in the design, the purity of the shapes, inspired by contemporary sculpture, such as the ergonomics that allow them to embrace leather. And it is also diversity of materials: not only the classic gold, diamonds and precious stones are used, but we venture into new materials such as aluminium, titanium and ebony. Clearly this is a more niche offering, but there is certainly a group of customers who love the avant-garde'.

The aim is to expand this jewellery philosophy even further in the world: 'We want to complete our presence in Europe, for example in Great Britain, where we will return, in London, and we are also aiming for the Middle East. But two markets are in our sights, the American and the Asian markets". Vhernier has been present in the United States for some time, especially thanks to the investments of the previous owners (Carlo Traglio is now president of Vhernier USA), "and we will strengthen ourselves both with monobrand shops and with the main department stores," says Brozzetti. "Duties do not frighten us, I do not believe that the Americans will stop buying Italian jewellery. And we certainly cannot start producing in the United States'. The market has recently expanded further with the opening of the first Vhernier boutique in Mexico City, the first in the country.

Asia-Pacific, on the other hand, is an area still to be presided over: 'For the Chinese market, we are a new brand, but one that presents itself with a different, very precise formula. If a proposal is solid and interesting, it always finds its audience,' he notes. 'However, we have done some market research, and we will probably have to reduce the size of our jewellery, proposing it in a midi version to better suit the smaller build of Asian women compared to European and American women.

Strategies that require adaptation, not a break with the past, as is also the case in the brand's management, in which there are the people who wrote the history of Vhernier. In fact, co-founder Angela Camurati and Maurizio, Carlo and Isabella Traglio (as creative director) are still in the company: "It is a story that continues and needs all those who have contributed to it," he concludes.