MILAN — Italian jeweler Marco Bicego is celebrating its first 25 years in 2025 and, to mark the anniversary, the namesake founder of the brand is unveiling “25 Best.” It’s a selection of the 25 most iconic and bestselling jewels that have defined the brand since its inception.
However, it’s not a time for looking back. In an exclusive interview, Bicego said he was still “full of enthusiasm and passion” for his work. “If there is one regret, it’s that time has passed by too quickly,” he said with a smile.
Further underscoring the milestone, Bicego will launch on Monday an advertising campaign fronted by Isabeli Fontana and lensed by New York-based artist and photographer Cass Bird.
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To shine a light on the brand’s heritage, the campaign was photographed at the Palladian Basilica in Vicenza, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. “This is a masterpiece landmark of Italian Renaissance, an architectural gem designed by Andrea Palladio, and I wanted to pay tribute to the brand’s deep connection to the Veneto region,” said Bicego, whose company is based in Trissino, around 12 miles from Vicenza, one of Italy’s key goldsmith hubs.
He enthused about Fontana, an example of “the multifaceted empowered woman” the brand serves.
She was photographed wearing some of the brand’s signature collections — the Marrakech, Masai, Lunaria, and Africa — as well as high jewelry, which was launched two years ago.
Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Anne Hathaway, Kate Winslet and Viola Davis are among the celebrities who have been seen wearing Marco Bicego. The brand’s factory was founded in 1958 by Marco’s father and it produced jewelry for third parties, until 2000 when the branded collection was launched.
“I started in the laboratory, but I felt my creativity and passion were restricted,” said Bicego. “Not reaching the final consumer was not satisfying to me, and I wanted to also be in charge of distribution, packaging, communication; it was fundamental to me. Not many understood this need of mine at the time.”
His choice was aligned with the trend that has been emerging, as “so many people want branded jewelry across the board, to identify with a certain lifestyle. Branded fashion came first,” he said, recalling for example the first jeans by Emporio Armani and its eagle logo, and jewelry “came much later, but this trend is here to stay.”
The challenge, he continued, is “to be recognized and I always tried to make a jewel that would be different, unique, in a consistent style. A specific and precise identity is fundamental.”
Production is vertical and all in-house, even the melting of the gold. The hand engraving with the bulino, an ancient tool used to add a one-of-a-kind finish to the gold, is key to the brand’s aesthetic. Coil, the twisted thread of gold, is also a Marco Bicego signature.
His creations are inspired by the organic forms of nature and textures, and he works with 18-karat yellow gold, strongly linked to the territory, diamonds and colorful gemstones. Tourmalines in particular are among his favorites.
“I like organic, unique shapes,” he said. In high jewelry, he cited a recent multi-thread Masai necklace with a diamond in an old mine cut, irregular and trapezoidal. “I am against standardization,” he asserted. “Over these 25 years, our jewelry has evolved, but the style is always timeless.”
Marco Bicego jewels are distributed in more than 50 countries. There are 12 monobrand boutiques in cities ranging from Venice and Paris to New York, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. “We are returning to Milan in a new space in Via Spiga 1 from June, with a new store concept,” he said proudly.
The city is “strategic, and the new store will help reflect the evolution of the brand with more modern visuals,” he said. Travertine marble will be one of the main elements and, while mum on details, he said that the store “will be less traditional, with a focus on design and special windows.” The previous Milan store closed last year.
Marco Bicego is also available in 900 multibrand stores. While declining to reveal sales figures for 2024, he said revenues rose 15 percent on 2023 and that his objective was to again post double-digit growth in 2025. Opening up to new markets will help reach this objective. He is currently focusing on the Middle East.
In the U.S., which accounts for between 42 and 45 percent of sales, there is a branch in San Francisco. There is a boutique at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York and there are 10 shops-in-shop at Bloomingdale’s. The idea is to open a first freestanding store in that market in 2026.
Italy represents 15 percent of total revenues and Europe 20 percent.
