GIORGIO DAMIANI

Tatler sits down with the vice president and third-generation scion of Italy’s renowned Damiani jewellery brand as it opens its first boutique in Hong Kong

What was it like growing up surrounded by jewellery, and how did it influence your interest in the field?

I was born in jewellery: we had a family business—my grandfather started the company in 1934— and my father developed that brand. I never really thought of [pursuing another career], because [jewellery] was in my DNA. I have seen the passion

[with which] my grandfather, my father and my mother were [working]. It was such a natural choice without any obligation, or any push from my father or my mother; I immediately decided to be part of this world.

Tell us about the strategy behind opening boutiques around the world.

We wanted to [have] our own boutique in the most important markets. We consider Hong Kong as one of them. Hong Kong has always been such a sophisticated market: the taste of the customers is very sophisticated because they were already very well versed [in jewellery]. They have the option to see the most beautiful stones and high jewellery pieces of the world here. We have a fantastic VIP clientele here and they love Damiani because we can do very special pieces for them.

Do you customise pieces for your clients?

Absolutely. And Hong Kong is the biggest market for us for this kind of activity. They want to see something new because they already have a lot of things. So we show them we can be more creative than anyone else. It’s easy for us, as we are the manufacturer, and great for them because they receive a unique piece which is made just for them.

How do you maintain exclusivity when it comes to your designs? Do you have market-specific pieces that are only available in one part of the world?

We prefer to create something unique, but for our unique customers, not the market. So these customised services [are available] in our stores, not only in Hong Kong but also in Japan, in Singapore, Milan or in Paris. We offer these special services to our VIP customers all over the world. I think that is even more effective because a customer can add on a real unique [element to a] piece.

Can you tell us about a piece that you especially loved making?

We made a fantastic piece for a [Middle Eastern] princess. It is a special set which is now very popular in the Middle East and also in India. But in this case, we didn’t just make the wedding [jewellery] set, we [also] embroidered a part of the dress [on the shoulder] which matched [the jewellery].

What are your thoughts about jewellery for men?

It’s a very good trend. Our main customer is still the woman, but we are already starting to focus [more on men]. For example, the Belle Epoque collection was made for that reason. Nowadays, gender [fluid jewellery] is very popular and this [collection] is an example of our inspiration. Nowadays men are a lot into [taking care of their looks] with [skincare] creams and so on, so jewellery [for men] could be a fantastic incremental business for us.