Gismondi 1754: designers of emotions

This article is published in Vanity Fair issue 30-31 on newsstands until August 3, 2021
«Before the business, the Gismondis always had another goal: the family. And the desire to pass on the passion for their work to their children and grandchildren ».

This is how our chat with Massimo Gismondi begins, a living demonstration of the fact that it is values ​​that make a successful brand. Forty-nine years old, Genoese, represents the seventh generation of a dynasty that has dedicated itself to beauty and jewels since 1754, the year of birth of the progenitor, Giovan Battista, who in a short time with his atelier became a supplier of the Doria family and of Pope Pius VI .

«I was lucky enough to have two parents who have always made me breathe the air of our company, taking me to the shop or traveling with them, but without ever forcing my decisions. The choice was mine. Over the years I realized how much responsibility I had, but also the extraordinary fortune that had happened to me: very few realities, even in a country with a great tradition like ours, can boast a centuries-old history. There the will to put something of my own, to give my contribution was triggered ».

And so it was. After the official entry in 1995, in 2011 Massimo “takes flight” by opening a boutique in Portofino, followed by those in Sankt Moritz, Milan and in other strategic locations around the world. Until the international consecration in 2019, when one of her necklaces wins the first prize in the People’s Choice category of the Couture Design Awards, the prestigious jewelry fair in Las Vegas. «Behind this goal there is, as always, the family», continues Gismondi, who with this term also includes the people who work for him: «When I choose a new collaborator I want to be sure that he is aligned with my values. This counts much more than the skills, which are acquired over time and in the field ».

Speaking of human capital and in this case of master goldsmiths, “the banquet is still the best of schools” for a brand that believes in the all-Italian strength of passing on techniques from one generation to the next. “I asked the workshops that produce the jewels for us to go back fifty years, to call the grandparents and uncles to be explained how things were done then. The new technologies are obviously essential, but they must be considered as a support to manual and artisan work. This is the only way to obtain that lightness and quality that distinguish our jewels ».

Jewels that always tell of the fragments of life lived. The most emblematic example of this is perhaps the Insieme necklace, one of the first created by Massimo and which symbolizes his union with his wife Stefania: “A relationship works when there is alchemy and sharing, as in a game of diamonds and emeralds. that contaminate each other. Many design jewels, we design emotions ».

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