WhatsApp
Email
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Bulgari opened its newly expanded manufacturing site in Valenza in April. How long was the project in development?
After only five years since the opening [of the original site in 2017], they started thinking of how to cope with the acceleration of the jewelry sales, and to think about enlargement. Then it took around three years to make it happen.
The expansion of the Bulgari Manifattura from 14,000 to 33,000 square meters will double its production capabilities. Will this also require more staff?
Today, we have around 1,100 people [at the Manifattura], and we are going up to 1,600 in the next three to five years. So we need to hire another 500 people. [That means we have] to look for them, to train them, to coach them, and then to have them working on our pieces.
The company has added a third building to the site for the Bulgari Scuola, a jewelry school due to open in September. What can you tell us about it?
For the very first time, we are opening the Scuola to external students. We already [had] what we call the Bulgari Jewellery Academy, but it was different because the Bulgari Jewellery Academy has always been meant [as] — and still will be — a training program for our employees.
Do all employees go through the Bulgari Jewellery Academy?
Whenever we employ an artisan to work in Valenza, for the first three to six months, they stay in this academy, learning with the trainers and teachers — not working on real pieces of jewelry, because, of course, with our jewelry, the standard needs to be impeccable. So they work on pieces that will never be sold, and when they’re ready — and it takes a minimum of three to four months, a maximum of six months — they can pass and produce real pieces.
Anyone can apply to the Scuola, not just those hoping to work at Bulgari. How does this fit into your strategy? Is it a reaction to the shortage of craftspeople in the industry?
Unfortunately, yes. We are investing a lot [in nurturing a new generation of artisans] — “we” as Bulgari, but also as [parent company] LVMH — because [these types of roles] are losing attraction, especially for the younger generation, and we need them. Sometimes young people don’t even know that this possibility exists, and one of the goals we have is to go to universities, to high schools, to prep schools, in all the countries, to make them aware that this kind of career exists and to make them fall in love with this possibility.
So in an attempt to address the skill gap, Bulgari is becoming an educator of sorts?
Yes. We have a lot of partnerships with schools, because we need to amplify the messages that this kind of work is great. Then, afterward, to train them and educate them to become a craftsman. And it takes time, because it’s a very delicate art. [After one year at the Scuola,] they will have the basic toolkit either to be employed by us or to look for whatever they want in the world.
You have also been seeking out jewelry talent among refugees, hiring craftspeople from displaced communities. Can you tell us more about that?
These are people who come from conflict areas — it might be in eastern Europe or Africa. Unfortunately there are many places today where people have to escape, and these refugees arrive in different regions in Europe. We have this collaboration with [a program that finds] the people who already have the skills — maybe they were goldsmiths in their previous life — or [who] have the talent to [develop them]. Through the academy, they start working with us, which is a great pride. We give them a brighter future, but it’s also good for us, because they’re super talented and incredibly motivated.
With all these talents coming from a global pool of schools, plus the refugee program, the Manifattura must be quite a cosmopolitan place.
We have talents from all over the world. At Valenza — which is between Turin, Milan and Genoa, in the countryside, in the middle of nowhere — you find people from almost 30 nationalities speaking over 20 languages. It’s incredible. It is like being in New York. They come from different backgrounds, but they are united by the passion for excellence, for the craft, for creating something beautiful. And this has created the magic. We have a company that allows us to dream long-term and to invest in people, in talent, and Valenza is a testament to all of it.
Main image: Bulgari deputy CEO Laura Burdese. (Bulgari)
