As a division of diluca Srl which was founded in 1957 and specialises in carving one-of-a-kind fine-quality cameos on shell and coral, Cameo Italiano was established by the family’s second generation and its president Gino Di Luca who aims to create cameo jewellery that transcends time and bring it to the globe. Leveraging almost 60 years of experience of the mother company in producing cameo jewellery, Cameo Italiano combines the heritage of culture and craftsmanship with their design leitmotiv – art, quality and tradition to target a wider audience.
New attempt
To step outside the existing form of seashell cameos carving, Cameo Italiano adopts very stringent control on material selection and quality assurance, while fusing innovation with tradition in its artistic jewellery.
Gino Di Luca told Hong Kong Jewellery that cameo jewellery has historical roots. His original intention of founding Cameo Italiano was to break through the wall of limited understanding of cameo jewellery as something only for the past or from grandmothers. To this end, they have reinvented and redesigned cameos into modern accessories in fashionable style with strictly-controlled quality and exquisite craftsmanship, in a more affordable price range from 80 to 300 euros per piece.
“We want to change the rules of making cameo jewellery. It is very much about the Italian arts, creativity and skillful hands,” said Di Luca. He stated that they usually set the frames of new designs and then use cameos as centre stones to make silver or gold long necklaces, charms, bracelets, small rings or pinky rings with matching gemstones, pearls or enamel.
Centuries-long heritage
According to Gino Di Luca, specific types of seashells for cameo carving are only available in West Africa, the Bahamas Islands and Central America. As cameos are engraved in the back of seashells and each them is different from another, there is no possibility to use machines to carve but doing it by hand, along with carvers’ tastes and peculiarities. After many cameo-carving workshops appeared and obtained reputation in Torre del Greco, this small town has assumed a very important role in the cameo industry since the 17th century. Nowadays, it is dubbed ‘world capital of cameos on shell’. Despite centuries of development, the cameo-carving techniques used by the workshops and manufacturers in the city have never been changed.
“Torre del Gvreco is the only place in the world where seashell cameos are produced, which has become a distinct expertise of the town. Without centuries of craftsmanship heritage and background, no one can get into this field,” Di Luca emphasised. Cameo Italiano preserves and breathes new life into the city’s traditional craftsmanship and the ancient art of cameos.
Network expansion
With a solid foothold in Europe obtaining about 1,100 stores, Cameo Italiano found its first overseas market in Japan where they have a distribution network and a well-established customer base since half a century ago. Until 2011, ninety percent of their business in Asia was generated from Japan. Beside Japan, they also export to Taiwan, Turkey, Australia, and their new market - the United States.
Speaking of the difficulties of expanding new markets, Di Luca said that the main challenge is people’s lack of knowledge on seashell cameos. “It is crucial for us to offer training, explain general production procedures, and give buyers booklets with basic information on cameo carving and jewellery making,” he said.
At recent trade shows, they found that more and more Chinese buyers started paying attention to cameo jewellery; and they are about to develop a distribution network in China. “China market looks very attractive for us as the taste of Chinese and Japanese consumers are very much alike. I believe we will have a good future in China when people know more about our family and products,” Di Luca predicts. (Photo courtesy: Cameo Italiano)
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