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Bulgari Doubles Size of Jewelry Factory in Italy
Located in Valenza, the now 355,000-square-foot facility includes a new jewelry school that’s open to the public, Scuola Bulgari.
PHOTO Last week, Bulgari inaugurated the opening of the addition to its jewelry manufacturing facility in Valenza, Italy. The facility is now more than 350,000 square feet and is the biggest jewelry factory in the world dedicated to manufacturing for one brand. (Photo courtesy of Bulgari)
PHOTO An aerial view of the expanded facility. The white building in the front is the Cascina dell’Orefice, or “golden farmhouse,” a historic building Bulgari restored that is said to have been the home of the region’s first goldsmith. (Photo credit: Matteo Carassale)
PHOTO Manifattura Bulgari employed fewer than 400 people when it opened in 2017, but the company said it plans to grow the workforce to more than 1,600 in the next four years. (Photo courtesy of Bulgari)
Valenza, Italy—Bulgari has expanded the size of its jewelry factory in Italy to more than 350,000 square feet, with the aim of doubling production by 2029 and employing over 1,600 people.
The LVMH-owned brand inaugurated the expansion of the factory in Valenza, Italy—a hub for goldsmiths—with a ceremony last week that included a panel discussion and a guided tour of the facility led by Bulgari CEO Jean-Christophe Babin and other top executives from LVMH and Bulgari.
It is now the largest single-brand jewelry manufacturing facility in the world, according to Bulgari.
“Today marks a historic milestone not only for Bulgari, but also for the territory of Valenza and the global jewelry industry,” Babin said at the factory’s opening ceremony on April 16. “The expansion of our [facility] is far more than a doubling in size and production capacity—it is the realization of a bold, contemporary vision for what the luxury industry must become in the future.
“This project is designed to integrate new crafts from the jewelry world … while enhancing education and training, fostering workplace well-being, and protecting the environment.”
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The LVMH-owned brand inaugurated the expansion of the factory in Valenza, Italy—a hub for goldsmiths—with a ceremony last week that included a panel discussion and a guided tour of the facility led by Bulgari CEO Jean-Christophe Babin and other top executives from LVMH and Bulgari.
It is now the largest single-brand jewelry manufacturing facility in the world, according to Bulgari.
“Today marks a historic milestone not only for Bulgari, but also for the territory of Valenza and the global jewelry industry,” Babin said at the factory’s opening ceremony on April 16. “The expansion of our [facility] is far more than a doubling in size and production capacity—it is the realization of a bold, contemporary vision for what the luxury industry must become in the future.
“This project is designed to integrate new crafts from the jewelry world … while enhancing education and training, fostering workplace well-being, and protecting the environment.”
The original 151,000-square-foot Manifattura Bulgari opened in 2017 as a replacement for its factories in Valenza and Solonghello, Italy.
The addition is about 205,000 square feet, bringing the total size of the facility to a little more than 355,000 square feet.
The factory employed 370 people when it opened eight years ago.
That number has since grown to more than 1,100 and Bulgari said it expects to hire more than 500 craftspeople by 2029 as production grows.
Included as part of the addition is Scuola Bulgari, a jewelry school that is open to all.
The brand said Scuola Bulgari is its first publicly accessible jewelry training school and the first school within a jewelry manufacturing facility.
Bulgari’s new jewelry school located within its Valenza factory, Scuola Bulgari, is open to the public, while the company’s existing jewelry academy is for employees of the brand only. (Photo courtesy of Bulgari)
It will operate alongside the Bulgari Jewelry Academy, which is the brand’s school for new employees that teaches the techniques used in creating the brand’s jewelry.
“At Scuola Bulgari, students will be trained by master goldsmiths, academic experts, and established professionals in the jewelry industry,” Bulgari Jewelry Managing Director Corinne Le Foll said.
“Together with the Bulgari Jewelry Academy, launched in 2017, this new educational initiative represents both concrete and symbolic investment in the genius and artistry of Made in Italy.”
According to Bulgari, the factory runs on renewable energy, with a geothermal system and more than 4,100 solar panels providing 50 percent of the plant’s power. The other half is supplied entirely by other renewable energy sources.
The manufacturing facility also has a no-plastics policy, optimized air treatment, precise temperature control, and water management systems.
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