Is there still anyone appreciating high study in design today? The Shangri-la of Francesca Bianchi

Interview by Alberto Chiurato Ranzi

If designs need to be rapid in production today then a question arises whether the production of rich blueprints becomes unthinkable. Francesca Bianchi investigates not only the journey of her career, but also that of the creative industry. According to Francesca, not only the design economies move a lot faster, but consumers that also became products are less mentally involved. 

Francesca Bianchi Design will be exhibiting at Milano Fashion&Jewels

18-21 February 2024

A dedication to sustainability, craftsmanship, design and manufacturing with the ultimate accuracy. Milano Fashion&Jewels explores a cultural challenge, is sustainability an utopian fantasy or a possibility?

Good morning Francesca. you’re coming from a family devoted to jewelry art, since 1978 when your grandfather Loris Franco Bianchi started his business. Then in 2013 Francesca Bianchi design opened its doors. What is the story behind Francesca Bianchi design?

Everything started when, during a prestigious stage in a Yacht Design studio in Florence, I started tracing the shapes and lines for the 54 meters long Sea Force One Yacht interiors.  The boat concept was that of a travelling jewellery fair that would dock in some of the world’s most exclusive harbors. 

You have a background in architecture and yacht design. Would you say these two fields can be inspiring to you? What brought you to switch to jewels?

I have always had a geometric mind and, before opening my own business, I worked as an interior yacht designer and at the same time created lines of gold and silver jewellery for my father's company. This fusion of the two jobs eventually gave birth to Francesca Bianchi Design. Geometric, contemporary and completely handcrafted jewellery. When I saw a fabric or a decoration that I used to design the interior of a yacht, I saw the design of an earring or a bracelet. These geometric and symmetrical lines definitely come from my architectural practice. Bianchi Design brand over time.

Your design comes from a strong artisanal and family savoir faire. How can this be a starting point to project your brand to the contemporary market?

Having years of history in the goldsmithing industry allowed me to get off to a very good start. I used to take a very classic jewellery piece in our company and I would often take it and dismantle it into many pieces and then assemble the pieces in another way, in another form, in a modern and more up-to-date key in order to be able to offer it to a younger customer. I then decided to create a collection of my own, giving so much importance to the colour determined by the handmade paint. The advantage was that I was able to create a modern and aesthetically innovative piece of jewellery but using my grandfather’s craftsmanship and well-established techniques to give my line the added value of jewellery entirely handmade by Tuscan artisans. A mix that has paid off over time. I am now the third generation.

Your creations look colorful, happy yet chic. How would you describe the style of your pieces of jewels? We know they have a long and defined making process. 

We were pioneers in 2009 when the idea was born. It was 2013 when we actually opened the business. It was very difficult to paint large surfaces on jewellery. I would definitely call it innovative. Each piece of jewellery has several completely manual steps, up to more than 40 steps for the most complex jewellery, it takes time to make a Francesca Bianchi Design jewel and this guarantees the uniqueness of each piece. On the surface, they are essential, but to have a quality piece of jewellery, each item must follow a very complex manufacturing process.

Your brand can be described as a part of the concept of made in Italy. What does it mean to be made in Italy for you and how can your brand be suited? 

Behind Francesca Bianchi Design’s Made In Italy there is passion, dreams, goals and hard work. We are a large artisan family with the sole purpose of giving something more than a single piece of jewellery. Every single piece of our jewellery and every single component is made exclusively in Arezzo, Tuscany. It’s about the small imperfections on each piece of our jewellery that determine an authentic Made in Italy.

If you can idealize your favorite customer, your ideal woman wearing your jewels, how would she be?

The ideal Francesca Bianchi Design woman is feisty, bold and determined. A woman who fights to have what she wants and what she deserves. Francesca Bianchi Design jewellery wants to accompany all women in their daily challenges, from the simplest to the most complex. And to give her even more strength and energy by wearing one of our pieces of jewellery. It is often the little things, the simplest things that help us feel cool and fabulous. Every woman has her own characteristics. Sometimes we need that extra touch, like a different piece of jewellery, to help us show them off and make us feel good.

What’s the link between your brand and the territory? Arezzo is a place renowned for artisanal jewelry and also in your intimate background.

Francesca Bianchi Design is linked to our territory because it is born from the hands of experienced Arezzo craftsmen. Tradition creates a new jewel, a lot of experience is needed to start and create our project of a different jewel that looks towards a new future.