The coffee-table book “DAMIANI: Alchemy of Desire – A STORY, A FAMILY, AND AN ITALIAN PASSION” edited by Cristina Morozzi is a tribute of the family Damiani to themselves and their achievements. A proud Italian family of jewellers who made sure to keep control of their business to this day.
Often books that were written on demand by the main protagonists concentrate on the growth, the journey, or the founding father of the company. In the Damiani case the family togetherness in the business is the most cherished factor. Second place comes to the tremendously beautiful designs over the years.
The first chapters show one special piece per decade, starting with the 1920s. The designs concentrate on what the decade meant in jewellery, but they are not historic. The 1920s are represented by a feather-style-necklace. The necklace is not closed at the front, but looks as if two feathers are touching. The 1930s are represented by a Cascade bracelet of diamonds that becomes wider at the side pointing towards the hand. Other decades are represented by tassels, geometry, and flowers. Knowing the history of jewellery, the designs are well chosen and underlaid with fitting pictures from the era. The craftmanship of the Damiani house is well represented through the chosen pieces.
The Damiani family is very proud of the 18 Diamond International Awards they have won over time. Interestingly, it was 18 awards when the book was written in 2014, and it is 18 today, 11 years later, according to the website of the company. Probably over the last years the IPO of the company, the expectations of the market towards a public company, and then in 2019 the bid by the family to buy the company back, made the concentration on the artistic work more difficult than it was before.
Damiani, although probably not known to everybody, is a very distinguished Italian high jewellery company. It was founded in 1924 in Valenza, a northern Italian city between Milan, Turin and Genoa. Valenza has only 20.000 inhabitants, much less than the provincial capital Alessandria. Why this small city became the centre of Italian goldsmithery (and not only in Piedmont, but in the whole of Italy) at the end of the 19th century is not known. Today the most famous brand still having its workshops and its headquarters in Valenza is Damiani. About 80 percent of the diamonds processed in Italy pass through Valenza; this also includes Bulgari stones.
Enrico Grassi Damiani, the founder of Damiani, became during his time in the 1920s and 1930s very successful. It is unclear to me if he is a native of Valenza or came there only to build his business. Today, though, the Damiani family is without doubt at home there.
The quote at the back cover of the book is from Enrico Grassi Damiani. The idea that a piece of jewellery worn by an intelligent person and created from individual natural precious items, combined to a form is more than its parts, is kind of the centre of the Damiani philosophy. The design is fitted to the wearer. One finds similar quotes by various family members throughout the book. The pictures of the high jewellery line do not only show artistic mastery (as in the partly shown picture of a flexible diamond choker on the front cover), but also very flattering (e.g. the waterfall) and friendly (e.g. the flower) designs.
Enrico Grassi Damiani’s son Damiano Grassi Damiani led the company till his premature death in the 1990s. Today, his widow Gabriella and the 3 children lead the company. The business became a worldwide one, with dedicated stores on all the continents. It is possible to buy the simpler collection of jewellery on the website now. Damiani’s fame, though, is more connected with the designs seen on the red carpet by beauties like Li Bingbing and other A-listers.
In the book, the perfect harmony between the siblings is somewhat exaggerated. In addition, the glowing statements by some of the workers of Damiani who are quoted seem out of proportion. This sounds a bit too eager to show what a good employer the company is and how everybody glorifies the family, but I might be over sensitive here.
Better and truer it is to see the results of all the work, the beautiful designs, worn by some of the biggest stars of today’s cinema. Damiani had a long ranging relationship, also family-wise, with Sophia Loren. Brad Pitt and Jenifer Aniston became campaign faces and co-designers after a lawsuit between the parties got resolved. Sharon Stone is also often pictured in Damiani jewels. She became ambassador for one of the higher publicised sustainability projects of the company (digging wells in Africa to help the local population).
Today in 2025 the company Damiani is safely back in the hands of the founding family. They had decided after 10 years that the status of a public company did not support its growth.
The next generation of Damiani’s is probably already working in the family business, the holding or the other brands owned by them. In 2024, the 100 years anniversary of the company was celebrated with a special exhibition and an image film. The image film can be seen on the website of the company. Again, the closeness of the family is presented as unique.
For the exhibition 100 pieces of jewellery were designed. The exhibition named ‘Damiani – 100 x 100 Italiani’ was shown in Milan, Hongkong, Tokyo, Dubai, and Seoul. This gives a clear lead on which continents the focus of the family lies today.
Whilst the Damiani’s celebration of themselves as a family can feel a bit overwhelming, the company Damiani has regained its focus and without doubt will continue to create wonderful pieces in the future. To stay on top of changes and discontinue something that has not brought the hoped for success, is a sign of strength. The family has shown its resilience over the course of time.
All rights to the book belong to:
Morozzi, Cristina (Ed.): DAMIANI: Alchemy of Desire – A STORY, A FAMILY, AND AN ITALIAN PASSION, 2014, first published by RCS Libri S.p.A., Milan, first published in the United States of America in 2014 by Rizzoli International Publications Inc., 300 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010, printed in Italy, ISBN: 978-0-8478-4283-4