Carolina Bucci

Carolina Bucci (born 1976) is a jewelry designer and synonymous jewelry brand. Originally from Florence, Italy, Carolina Bucci now lives in London, UK.

Education and Background
Carolina Bucci's family have manufactured fine gold jewelry in Florence, Italy since 1885. She grew up in Florence and was exposed to the family business from an early age, until aged 18 she left for New York where she studied Studio Arts at Marymount Manhattan College, and then Jewelry Design at Fashion Institute of Technology. On leaving F.I.T. Carolina worked for the American jewelry design company, Penny Preville, and did freelance design work for companies such as Graff Diamonds. In the meantime, she began to design some pieces under her own name that were quickly picked up by Fragments, a jewelry store and showroom in Soho, New York.

Woven Jewelry and Friendship Bracelets
The first collection that Carolina Bucci designed used a technique of weaving gold and silk threads on an adapted textile loom that had previously been used to weave Renaissance Florentine fabrics. This has gone on to become the signature collection of Carolina Bucci and was the technique used in 2002 to create gold and silk friendship bracelets, which have become her most recognizable pieces. Simply double-knotted on the wrist, these were a response to the threaded friendship bracelets that children in Italy exchange in the summer on the beach. After Sarah Jessica Parker's character wore one throughout the last series of Sex and the City, they became a favorite of journalists as well as celebrities, and soon after Neiman Marcus introduced the brand nationwide in the US.

International Expansion
In 2003 UK Vogue featured a photograph of Salma Hayek wearing a Carolina Bucci necklace on its front cover, and asked the jewelry designer for a UK retailer to provide in the magazine listings. Not yet having one, Carolina flew to London with a wishlist of stores to approach. Top of that list was the prestigious Browns (fashion boutique) which agreed to trial the collections and remains a stockist. The next international retailer that Bucci developed on that same trip was designer Matthew Williamson after she recognized him in a restaurant and asked him if he had ever considered selling jewelry alongside his clothes. He set up an appointment for Bucci with his head buyer and her collections were available in his Bruton Street store shortly after. The jewelry is now available worldwide in stores such as Harrods, Bergdorf Goodman, Holt Renfrew, Lane Crawford, Colette, and, following a permanent move to London in 2004, Bucci opened the first Carolina Bucci flagship store in 2007 in Belgravia. The second Carolina Bucci store opened in the summer of 2011 in the luxury marina development, Porto Montenegro.

Charitable Collaborations
For the past few years Carolina Bucci has produced an annual limited edition collection designed to benefit a selected charity. In 2008, the collaboration was with WaterAid, and in 2009, with Global Action for Children. 2010's collaboration was with (RED) with profits going to The Global Fund to help fight AIDS in Africa.

Palazzo Pitti
A selection of pieces from Carolina Bucci's collections are in the permanent collection of the Palazzo Pitti Museo degli Argenti, Florence.

External Links

Official Site

How to Spend It Bespoke Article

WaterAid

Global Action for Children