Licia Mattioli: An Entrepreneurial Family Story

«Some time ago, a journalist described me as a serial entrepreneur. In fact, if I had to answer the question “how did we get here”, I would have to say that we got where we are today because my family was ahead of the times. My father actually took over a company outside his sector of origin to create a new business and foresaw the need to introduce technology and industrial modus operandi into a totally artisan business until it grew into a major supplier for a premium jewellery brand. The result was that, within a dozen years or so, we sold the company, which had grown significantly in the meantime, to a luxury giant. In short, this was what we did with Antica Ditta Marchisio, a historic Turin brand founded in 1859 that my father bought in 1995, remodelled internally as the place of production and subsequent launch of Mattioli and sold to Richemont in 2013. And that is where we then started from scratch again with the new Mattioli SpA, but this time with significant know-how. And there for me lies the meaning of innovation: always bringing new ideas into your sector, a different kind of mindset that wasn't there before. We did it by using all our expertise as entrepreneurs and believing in a dream. Then, we added another, more technical-practical, so to speak, kind of innovation to this solid base: we combined technology and manual skills in our procedures, keeping the DNA of Italian luxury manufacturing firmly intact but adding extremely high-tech details, also by drawing on other sectors, especially everything that is automation and numerical controls, 3D printing and sintering. For the design of our brand, however, we were among the first to play on themes such as element interchangeability and the customization of individual pieces. One example is Mattioli's iconic Puzzle collection, perhaps my favorite. I travel a lot and I always take a pair of Puzzle earrings with me together with all the available accessories so that I can change their color and style according to my look and the occasion. In addition to what we have done for ourselves, there is also the boost we have given to our territory by creating a new gold-jewelry district in Turin from nothing, the fifth in Italy. In fact, until our arrival Turin was certainly not among the realities linked to the world of jewelry manufacturing. Now it is. Marchisio had 30 employees when we acquired it, now it has more than 400 to which we must add all the allied industries. As for Mattioli, from 20 people, there are now over 500 of us with a factory in Turin where we produce our complete items as well as semi-finished pieces which we then distribute to five workshops in Valenza and one in Caserta. Taking 2013 as our year zero, 2022 will close with a turnover of 100 million euros, 80% of which will come from foreign sales. I can only say I am satisfied with the path we have travelled in less than ten years. But now another challenge awaits us: that of not only being known among insiders. Now we are ready to leave our mark!»