MILAN — The silverware Caviar collection is one of Buccellati’s most recognizable expressions of the brand’s craftsmanship and it is being celebrated during Milan Design Week.
The collection is marked by a silver surface defined by a dense constellation of handcrafted microspheres, with a texture reminiscent of the appearance of caviar, and has become one of the Milan-based jeweler’s distinctive hallmarks.
As it unveils a new tableware part of the Caviar Collection, Buccellati is staging “Aquae Mirabiles,” an immersive installation curated by Federica Sala, designed by Balich Wonder Studio, and with the collaboration of artist Luke Edward Hall.
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Communication director Maria Cristina Buccellati attributed the decision to partner with Hall to “his extraordinary ability to transform concepts that are also complex in a concrete and really evocative visual experience,” helping to narrate the history of Italian caviar in a way that would be “accessible and captivating for a much wider public, across the board, reaching even the youngest generations.”
Buccellati praised Hall’s “philosophy, deeply inspired by narration, nature and fantasy,” which “magnificently come to life in his watercolors. Luke is a master in creating an imaginative universe, populated by allegoric figures, transforming the entire exhibition in a visual tale. The playfulness and clarity of his drawings are perfect for Buccellati, allowing us to tell the story of caviar didactically but at the same time in a fun and immediate way.”
Over the years, the British artist has worked with the likes of Venetian fabrics-maker Rubelli, Ginori 1735, Burberry and Liberty.
The idea to stage the “Aquae Mirabiles” exhibition stems from Buccellati’s tradition to present a silver collection or novelty pieces every year during Design Week. Once a cutlery set dedicated to caviar was completed, “we realized it was the ideal moment to launch the entire Caviar collection,” Buccellati said.
The objective for Buccellati was to both celebrate the Caviar collection through an immersive installation and at the same time to tell the little-known story of Italian caviar.
“We wanted to weave together myth, history and fantasy to create an experience that would be really unique and engaging,” she said. “The goal is to immerse visitors in the depth of the sea, telling the story of the origins of Italian caviar through an evoking and engaging path.”
For this reason, with “Aquae Mirabiles,” Buccellati “wants to stimulate a sense of marvel and surprise, making the experience accessible and understandable for a public of any age,” similar to the experience of “Naturalia,” she said.
During Design Week last year, Buccellati presented the “Naturalia” exhibition to celebrate the beauty of nature, featuring the brand’s signature silver collection, “Furry Animals.” That exhibition was also staged in collaboration with Balich Wonder Studio, while Berlin-based Studio Mary Lennox, a creative studio specialized in botanical design, created the set.
She praised the creativity of Balich Wonder Studio, which conceives, produces and delivers live experiences and was most recently the creative lead for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic opening ceremony in February. The studio, she said, is “recognized for its sophisticated ability to interpret and shape visionary projects. Their approach combines a distinctive creativity with an impeccable execution, fundamental to create the installation of both ‘Aquae Mirabiles’ and ‘Naturalia’ last year. They are experts in creating immersive and exciting experiences and this year, too, succeeded in creating with us this installation, which perfectly translated the Buccellati ideas in an engaging and evoking experience.”
In the spaces adjacent to Buccellati’s headquarters in Piazza Tomasi di Lampedusa, from the outside, the structure of the “Aquae Mirabiles” exhibition resembles a water theater, but inside, “a submerged world comes alive: an imagined Atlantis where history, myth and fantasy intertwine,” Buccellati said.
Hall’s watercolor drawings evoke different eras and iconographies including Roman mythological figures drawn as statues by the English artist including Neptune, the Naiads, Tiberinus, god of the Tiber and the Sitens.
“Stepping inside the structure is like plunging into the depths of the sea, following the journey of the Italian sturgeon from the open waters to freshwater realms,” Buccellati said.
The first gallery showcases silver sturgeons with pieces from the Marina collection and the second space features a sumptuous submerged banquet with a table shaped like a wave displaying the entire Caviar collection.
Through allegorical figures, Hall navigates eras, events and legends: from records of ancient Rome to papal cookbooks, from Renaissance paintings in the Pinacoteca di Brera to Milanese legends such as the banquet Leonardo da Vinci designed for the wedding of Ludovico il Moro and Beatrice d’Este.
The collection includes caviar spoons, trays, plates, ice buckets, Murano glassware and flutes and the range is now expanding to include new additions: a complete flatware set, two caviar bowls in different sizes and a bread plate.
Creative director and honorary president Andrea Buccellati reinterpreted for this collection the delicate “crown” of silver microspheres that gives the Caviar collection’s signature motif its shape. This motif finds one of its finest expressions in the Cratere delle Muse dating back to 1981, one of his father Gianmaria Buccellati‘s most significant works. It is now part of the Oggetti Preziosi collection and the Fondazione Gianmaria Buccellati, conceived to celebrate the great goldsmithing tradition, and the cup is crafted in silver, gold, jades and sapphires.
The new tableware collection continues this tradition, preserving the artisanal principles as each element is crafted using traditional manual silversmithing techniques.
The house, founded in 1919 and now designed by third-generation heir Andrea Buccellati and his daughter Lucrezia, is known for exquisitely engraved and openwork jewels, handmade with traditional goldsmith craftsmanship dating to the Renaissance, and recognized for its tulle, lace and twisted thread motifs, as well as for its silverware. Buccellati is part of Compagnie Financière Richemont and is helmed by chief executive officer Nicolas Luchsinger.
