This year’s honorees include a Midwest retailer and two multi-store independents, one in New York and the other in New England.
Richemont Buys Buccellati in Private Deal
The luxury conglomerate acquired the 100-year-old Italian jeweler, adding to a portfolio that already includes brands like Cartier and Piaget.

Geneva—Richemont has acquired Italian jewelry brand Buccellati from privately held conglomerate Gangtai Group Corporation Ltd. for an undisclosed amount, the company announced Friday.
Richemont Chairman Johann Rupert described the Milan-based brand as “one of the few maisons in the dynamic branded-jewelry market that is complementary to our existing jewelry maisons in terms of style, origins and craftsmanship.”
The luxury conglomerate’s brand portfolio includes Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Piaget, Montblanc, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Baume & Mercier.
Founded in 1919 by Mario Buccellati, the company said it handcrafts its jewelry in four in-house workshops located throughout Italy, using techniques dating back to the Renaissance. In addition to jewelry, Buccellati, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, also designs watches and silverware.
Richemont reportedly had been in talks with Italian private equity firm Clessidra to acquire the company back in 2016, as per a Reuters report, but was unable to reach a deal.
Instead, Gangtai Group acquired an 85 percent stake in the jeweler for an estimated $282 million.
Sources told Reuters in October 2018 that Richemont was again in talks to buy Buccellati after restrictions on investments abroad led to difficulties with Gangtai’s investment.
The private transaction closed Sept. 26.
Richemont said it does not expect the transaction to have a material financial impact on its consolidated net assets or operating results for the fiscal year ending in March.
Buccellati’s quarterly results will be reported under Richemont’s jewelry maisons business area.
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