The difference between the aesthetic of the men’s and women’s watches could not be more night-and-day. Whereas the men’s watches offer a unique alternative to other jewelry brand timepieces, the women’s Buccellati watches are dramatically gorgeous. Of course, this reflects the company’s overall greater comfort level in producing items for women. Aside from a few items such as cufflinks, I don’t think Buccellati produces very much at all for men at this time.
Buccellati design is inspired by Italian history and the eras that define how both Italians view themselves and the outside world. Look closely at many Buccellati items of jewelry and watches and you’ll see a distinct focus on using nature to create patterns, motifs and overall themes. Other major design inspirations come from important and prolific eras such as the Renaissance.
The most extravagant Buccellati watches are impressive and wonderfully beautiful – even if diamonds aren’t your thing. A hallmark of Buccellati craft is that they prefer to leave no gold surface untouched. What does that mean? Un-engraved or un-embellished gold is not of interest to them. In traditional old world style, gold isn’t good enough unless someone has made it more beautiful.
You see this philosophy in action on their women’s pieces especially. White, yellow, and rose gold are engraved in antique or traditional styles with leaves or architectural decor. Diamonds not only add to the design, but in many of the bracelet-style watches, the diamonds are highly celebrated design elements. Two of the major watch collections for women that focus on diamonds and other stones are the Buccellati Agalmachron collection watches as well as the Buccellati Milleluci watches. Of course, the focus is less on legibility in these more formal Buccellati watches, but as jewelry watches, they are top-notch in design and execution. Many of the Milleluci watches have over 500 diamonds and have 8 carats or more of diamonds on the case, dial, and bracelet.
What I am curious about is really where Buccellati watches will go next. How quickly will they refine their men’s watch collections? Will their prices go up with expanded global visibility. Even though these are top-luxury items, the pricing is comparatively fairer than what you see in many similar watches from Swiss or French brands. It isn’t about the prices being lower, but rather that given the hand-made nature of the cases and bracelets, and the many exclusive one-of-a-kind designs plentifully mixed with precious stones, you feel like you are paying for the artistic effort and not just salaries in the marketing department. buccellati.com
