How Italy’s Heart of Gold is Melding with More Modern Jewelry Machinery

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by Jacob Solomon May 26, 2023 News
How Italy’s Heart of Gold is Melding with More Modern Jewelry Machinery

The Italian gold jeweler Fope threw an extravagant party for about 300 guests at a 17th-century estate on the outskirts of VICENZA, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The brand, founded here in 1929, wanted to highlight the flexibility of its patented 18-karat gold mesh chains, so they had members of Urban Theory perform their tutting style. They used gold jewelry as props.

Fope's content marketing manager said a good performance is like a good piece of jewelry. Behind it is all this research, skill, precision, technicality.

It's the same thing about the jewelry industry.

ImageInside the Progold’s labs, master alloys entered their packaging phase immediately after tumbling. Progold designs and manufactures jewelry in Trissino, a small town outside Vicenza.
Inside the Progold’s labs, master alloys entered their packaging phase immediately after tumbling. Progold designs and manufactures jewelry in Trissino, a small town outside Vicenza.Credit...Matteo de Mayda for The New York Times
Inside the Progold’s labs, master alloys entered their packaging phase immediately after tumbling. Progold designs and manufactures jewelry in Trissino, a small town outside Vicenza.

The city has a goldsmithing tradition dating back to the Middle Ages and is home to a jewelry museum that is located in the Basilica Palladiana. It's a hub for jewelry companies that continue to promote traditional handicrafts even as they experiment with cutting-edge techniques such as powder metallurgy and 3-D printing.

The kind of advancement that will allow jewelers to execute designs that are impossible to achieve through traditional casting methods will ensure both quality and consistency.

Giovanni Bersaglio, the chief operation officer at Berkem, wrote in an email thatVicenza is the technological core of the machinery production for the gold sector. Thanks to close collaboration between jewelry companies and technology suppliers, the center has grown.

In the wake of the Pandemic, demand for jewels made in Italy soared in step with demand for jewelry in general. Italian gold and silver jewelry exports have increased in each of the last three years, according to a national association.

The chief executive of Progold, which designs and manufactures jewelry in Trissino, a small town about 15 miles west of Vicenza, said the Pandemic highlighted an issue that has plagued the Italian industry for the better part of the past decade.

"After Covid, the demand for jewelry production in Italy completely exploded and now the biggest issue is to find people and goldsmiths that can help you make the orders." In Italy, this has not happened in a long time.

ImageAt Progold, visual analyses are carried out with a 3-D digital inspection system, a microscope that allows a three-dimensional view of the part.
At Progold, visual analyses are carried out with a 3-D digital inspection system, a microscope that allows a three-dimensional view of the part.Credit...Matteo de Mayda for The New York Times
At Progold, visual analyses are carried out with a 3-D digital inspection system, a microscope that allows a three-dimensional view of the part.

Vicenza is one of the best places to make jewelry in Italy. Valenza, in the Piedmont region southwest of Milan, is home to a cluster of high-end makers who specialize in gem-set jewels. Many of the gold and silver chains bound for the Middle East are produced in Arezzo.

The number of machinery and equipment suppliers based in and around the city is what distinguishes Vicenza from the other two centers.

It was cheaper to produce jewelry in the Far East or Eastern Europe in the 1990s, according to Ms. Bertoldo of Fope, which has a factory just two miles west of Vicenza.

She said that some came back and some didn't. Everything developed here has always been here.

Roberto coin uses a wholly owned subsidiary, La Quinta Stagione, to produce its jewelry. The factory was established in Vicenza in 1998 and uses automotive technology to make jewelry.

Carlo Coin, Roberto's son and the president and chief executive of La Quinta Stagione, wouldn't say what the company uses. He said that the brand is one of the most copied. Lawyers are blocking social media sites on a daily basis. They don't need to know how the jewelry is made. Producing jewelry in volumes at a consistent quality level is not possible without technology.

He said that the brand still finishes its pieces by hand. Mr. coin said that technology can be boring. It's our goal to have life in our jewelry.

ImagePieces created with burin engraving, a hand-made process that gives gold a sleek, organic look and satin sheen, commonly used by Marco Bicego, a jewelry maker who is native to Vicenza.
Pieces created with burin engraving, a hand-made process that gives gold a sleek, organic look and satin sheen, commonly used by Marco Bicego, a jewelry maker who is native to Vicenza.Credit...Matteo de Mayda for The New York Times
Pieces created with burin engraving, a hand-made process that gives gold a sleek, organic look and satin sheen, commonly used by Marco Bicego, a jewelry maker who is native to Vicenza.
ImageLaser-engraving machines mark the Marco Bicego logo on jewelry items to help ensure more precision and accuracy. Mr. Bicego still estimates that 80 percent of his jewelry is made by hand.
Laser-engraving machines mark the Marco Bicego logo on jewelry items to help ensure more precision and accuracy. Mr. Bicego still estimates that 80 percent of his jewelry is made by hand.Credit...Matteo de Mayda for The New York Times
Laser-engraving machines mark the Marco Bicego logo on jewelry items to help ensure more precision and accuracy. Mr. Bicego still estimates that 80 percent of his jewelry is made by hand.

Marco Carniello, the global exhibition director of the Jewellery & Fashion Division of the Italian Exhibition Group, said that innovation and tradition are key to the continued success of Italian-made jewels. Vicenzaoro is Italy's largest gold and jewelry fair by the number of people who show up and the number of people who attend.

In Italy, there are 7, 100 companies in the jewelry industry. 10 to 15 years ago, it doubled. The ones who are consolidation are full of creativity, have strong ownership and are innovative.

Laser welders, 3-D printers, and chain-making machines were some of the heavy machinery on display in the T-Gold pavilion. The most powerful area of the country is it.

The Legor Group is located in the small town of Bressanvido, northeast of Vicenza.

ImageProgold’s in-house quality control laboratory. The company’s chief executive, Damiano Zito, said the pandemic highlighted a dwindling number of skilled workers.
Progold’s in-house quality control laboratory. The company’s chief executive, Damiano Zito, said the pandemic highlighted a dwindling number of skilled workers.Credit...Matteo de Mayda for The New York Times
Progold’s in-house quality control laboratory. The company’s chief executive, Damiano Zito, said the pandemic highlighted a dwindling number of skilled workers.

Legor established a partnership with HP five years ago and is currently experimenting with a prototype version of its binder jet 3-D printer.

The binder jet works like a normal ink jet, but instead of ink, we have a roller that spreads metal powders layer by layer. People can use this technology to create something new. It helps them think differently.

The cost of metal powders was the biggest obstacle for Italian companies interested in 3-D printing in metal. Mr. Di Falco said that the printers need a huge amount of powders to operate. It's not so cheap with gold.

The CEO of Progold believes that it is only a matter of time before 3D printing is used in jewelry.

The pilot can't stop the plane when it's taking off because of the speed at which it's taking off. Additive manufacturing will increase in size.

ImageOne of Marco Bicego’s 18-karat yellow gold pieces, whose surface is distinguished by hand-engraving using the ancient burin technique. Its silky sheen is reminiscent of textile textures.
One of Marco Bicego’s 18-karat yellow gold pieces, whose surface is distinguished by hand-engraving using the ancient burin technique. Its silky sheen is reminiscent of textile textures.Credit...Photographs by Matteo de Mayda for The New York Times
One of Marco Bicego’s 18-karat yellow gold pieces, whose surface is distinguished by hand-engraving using the ancient burin technique. Its silky sheen is reminiscent of textile textures.

There are still hold outs. He said that he was born with a bar of gold. Giuseppe started a jewelry company in Trissino. In 2000, the younger Mr. Bicego took the lessons that he had learned working on a bench for his father, modernized the designs and founded his own brand, now sold in upscale jewelry stores around the United States and Europe.

Mr. Bicego said that 80 percent of their jewelry is made by hand.

A hand-engraving technique that relies on an ancient tool called the bulino, which resembles an ice pick, takes 5000 movements of the hands.

Many Italian jewelers like Mr. Bicego emphasize their devotion to the past, suggesting an inherent tension with the possibilities of the future.

The product development manager at Fope and the president of the jewelry manufacturers association denied that.

At the Vicenzaoro fair in January, Ms. Piaserico stated that it was not tension but opportunity. When you mix technology and artisanry, you make something special.

She said that Italian jewelry is different due to this. We also have technology to perfect the quality because we have our heritage. The final touch is always human.