Mario Buccellati was born in Ancona in 1891. Before the First World War, he was apprenticed in Milan to the goldsmiths Beltrami & Besnati. In 1919 he took over the firm, founding a house which continues to this day.

The Buccellati style combines Renaissance techniques, luxury materials and the extensive use of textured engraving to create jewelry, boxes and silver sculptures. This distinctive style won favor with a discriminating international clientele, including the Vatican as well as the Royal Houses of Italy, Spain, Belgium, England and Egypt. Gabriele D’Annunzio christened him the “Prince of Goldsmiths.”