Exclusive interview with Guido Damiani, President of Damiani Group
What does celebrate Damiani's 100th anniversary mean to you personally and to the company as a whole?
The celebration of our 100-year anniversary makes us so proud, and I think our parents and grand-parents would be so proud as well. It has been an exciting and emotional year for Damiani, as you can imagine a hundred years is an important and unrepeatable moment in a company’s path. Passion, creativity, craftmanship, Italianess and family are the values that have always represented Damiani soul since its origins, so we have decided to translate them into a special high jewelry collection. 100 unique jewels, made up by 100 rare stones coming from all over the world, showcased within magnificent exhibition called “Damiani 100x100 Italiani”. since its premiere in March 2024 in Milan, this exhibition has then travelled all over the world to arrive in Dubai last week. Dubai is a city full of energy, so I’m particularly happy that we brought our celebrations here. Anyway, though 100 years are an important result, they do not represent the finish line: in fact, I like to think that the most significant milestone is yet to come, because we are already projected to the future and to the next 100 years.
How has Damiani’s vision evolved over the past century, and what are the key milestones that have shaped the brand into what it is today?
If I must think of our history since the very beginning, there were so many important moments… Our know-how made of excellent craftmanship and creativity has passed from one generation to the other. Our journey began with my grandfather Enrico, whose skills as a master goldsmith soon made him a point of reference among distinguished noble families, who relied on him for the creation of their most exclusive jewels, as he designed and crafted the jewels on his own. My father Damiano succeeded him, and his pioneering mind gave a strong innovative push to the company. Thanks to him, Damiani became a brand and conquered an increasingly international audience. He brought so many innovations, from revolutionary designs to disruptive communication campaigns featuring international movie stars… he was one of the first in the industry to engage international celebrities in advertising campaigns to build brand awareness. After his tragic dead in a car accident, the company passed to me, Silvia and Giorgio, the third generation. Under the three of us, the company has grown so much and has developed as a global business and Group, with branches all over the world. Silvia takes care of the image and communication aspects of the Group; Giorgio oversees the creative direction, production and supply chain, while as president of the company I supervise all the strategic and business-related activities. As you can see, each generation has brought something new to the Damiani legacy and future direction, but the DNA and the core values of the Maison have always remained the same since our origins: we protect them, without accepting compromises. In fact, as we often say, Damiani is not just a brand, it is first of all a family name: the lastname of my grandparents and my parents, but most of all, the last names of our children and future grandchildren. This brings a huge sense of responsibility for us, along with a huge pride. In fact, we are the only international jewel brand still owned by the founding family. A Maison that is 100% Italian, in an industry dominated by big international Group corporations.
What are the standout iconic pieces or collections from Damiani’s history that you would consider iconic or particularly meaningful to the brand’s legacy?
We have created so many iconic pieces over these 100 years… You know that Damiani is the only Maison who has won as many as 18 Diamonds International Awards, the Oscar of the international jewelry world? We won the first one in 1976, with the bracelet Shark that was designed by our mother Gabriella. Apart from these masterpieces, we have many iconic fine jewelry collections: from Margherita and Belle Epoque, whose original designs arrive from my grand-father sketches, to Mimosa jewels, with its intricate apparent chaos in diamonds settings. These fine jewelry collections have been translated also in our high jewelry proposals. Another iconic collection that deserves mention is D.Side: everything started with the wedding ring co-created with Brad Pitt, for Jennifer Aniston, a pure celebration of love. The D.Side ring has two concentric circles in white gold or platinum that are joined together by brilliant-cut diamonds, epitomising the symbolic and emotional bond between two lovers. Since its creation, D.Side has expanded in full collection whole wedding rings are still must-have pieces.
Damiani has a rich history of craftsmanship and Italian heritage. How do you preserve this legacy while embracing modern trends and innovations?
Balancing traditional values with new trends is not difficult for us because creativity is something that is incorporated in our DNA. We keep on distinguishing ourselves not only for our traditions and quality, but also for our capability to innovate. In fact, creativity, innovation, tradition, are all part of our heritage. These values may seem distant, but they can coexist. We have always had a deep respect for our origins, and this has never prevented us from experimenting with design. You can notice how much creativity and innovation are rooted in our DNA, looking at my grandfather’s original designs, like Margherita for example: it is one of our oldest designs, but its lines are still so modern, so contemporary. My father was a visionary as well: we were taught to always look around, observe and be curious, to understand what people like, without compromising our integrity. You can find the same spirit also in the most recent fine jewelry collections, like Belle Epoque Reel, which is a fresher take on the Belle Epoque collection, one of our iconic collections of all time: we build up on our history, we don’t erase the past.
What have been some of the most significant challenges Damiani has faced over the last 100 years, and how has the company overcome them?
Damiani has expanded a lot over the decades, we have created not only a global brand but also a Group that promotes Italian excellence through the synergistic blend of complementary brands and companies, established or acquired over the course of the years. As the brand has expanded to become a global Group, surely challenges have increased. There is a certain level of complexity in handling a global Group, but challenges are exciting to us. Along with Damiani nowadays our portfolio consists of other five brands: Salvini, a leading brand in contemporary jewelry; Bliss, which targets a younger audience; Calderoni, a historical Milanese high-end jewelry brand founded in 1840, that is now a Business Unit of the Damiani Group mainly dedicated to the sale of loose natural diamonds; ROCCA, founded in 1794, the only multibrand chain distributing high-end jewelry and timepieces in Italy who is now also expanding abroad; and VENINI, founded in 1921, a Murano-based glassmaker whose artistic glassware is on display in leading museums worldwide. Most of these brands have affinities and belong to the same industry, an industry that we have a deep understanding of: it surely makes it easier for us to manage everything, furthermore they can benefit from synergies.
The luxury jewelry market has undergone many changes and several challenges. How has Damiani adapted to changing consumer behaviors and market demands over the years?
We make adjustments and also create new collections if needed, but in doing so, we never compromise our core values. Tradition, creativity, innovation, are part of our DNA. I think that the coexistence of these values is fundamental to stay relevant and have success. We are keen observers of what happens around us, how the taste and the preferences of our customers, especially women, change over time and we adjust, without betraying our roots. One example of this is our newest fine jewelry collection, the Belle Epoque Reel, which is a fresher and contemporary take on our iconic Belle Epoque collection. We have introduced a rotating mechanism that really makes it more playful, and it’s being appreciated by everyone, especially by a younger audience, no matter the gender.
Looking forward, what are your aspirations for Damiani in the next 100 years? What direction do you see the brand taking in the future?
The 100 years anniversary is an important moment to enjoy and cherish the accomplishments reached so far, but it is the best moment to think about the next steps and plan the future of Damiani because we want the Maison to stay relevant for the next years, in the hope it will pass to the fourth generation. In fact, our children are still young at the moment, but they seem really interested in carrying on the family legacy.
We have so many exciting projects, which I cannot disclose yet, we like to surprise our fans! In general, I can say that Damiani will keep on growing on a global scale, as a brand and as a Group, sticking always to its core values, without any compromises.
How does Damiani plan to engage with the younger generation of luxury consumers, and what role does digital technology play in your strategy?
Digitalization has changed the world and the way of doing business. Despite it has not changed the core of the craftmanship techniques, digital technologies have helped a lot to improve the quality of work in other areas, for example retail and in the design process which can be now rendered and have changed the way of doing marketing and communication activities. We now have new means to connect and communicate with our audiences, especially with younger generations. Specifically, social media are fundamental nowadays in the marketing mix, because everybody dedicates so much time to these platforms, all over the world, so t’s mandatory to integrate these new forms of communication in the strategy and make them coherent with the Values and DNA of the brand. E-commerce is also increasing its relevance on global scale, and will grow even more, however right now jewels remain such special items, in terms of economic and emotional investment, that most people still like to go in store to live an experience; clients search online but then they want to see the product in person and establish a relationship with the brand and meet in person somebody they can trust. Even in this case, the integration between physical and digital is crucial. We have an integrated marketing and communication strategy that connects all the different touch points, from traditional to the digital ones, like digital advertising, social media, influencer marketing and so on. The integration is what really matters here: different channels have different rules, but they need to transmit the same brand values and philosophy.
What are the long-term expansion plans for Damiani in the Middle East?
The Gulf area plays a fundamental role indeed, in fact we have decided to bring such a special and emotional exhibition here in Dubai, furthermore I have decided to live here with my family since few years now. There are many potential growth opportunities for Damiani in the area. People here appreciate quality, art, culture, authenticity. Damiani is all this and much more! We have many exciting expansion plans: while we have recently opened a boutique in Kuwait City and one in Doha, we will soon arrive in Manama (Bahrain) and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) with beautiful stores. And there will be more, you will see!