Editor’s Note
This week marks a significant expansion for Bulgari, as the LVMH-owned jeweler inaugurates the world’s largest single-brand jewelry manufacturing complex in Valenza, Italy. The new 33,000-square-meter facility doubles the company’s previous production capacity, underscoring its commitment to craftsmanship and industrial scale.
Bulgari, the Italian jewelry house controlled by French luxury group LVMH since 2011, has gained industrial muscle with the inauguration this week of the world’s largest single-brand jewelry production complex. Located in Valenza, Italy, the new facility spans 33,000 square meters, doubling the capacity of the firm’s previous 14,000-square-meter site in northern Italy.
LVMH’s investment focuses not only on expanding physical production space but also on broadening industrial knowledge. The project, designed by the Italian studio Politecnica, includes a second training school, the Scuola Bvlgari, set to open in September. This 1,000-square-meter facility will complement the existing Bvlgari Academy, active since 2017. Together, the firm will be able to train up to 150 jewelers per year. This initiative aims to address the growing tension in the industry due to a shortage of qualified artisans.
For this new phase alone, the company plans to hire 500 new employees. Currently, the manufacturing site already employs 1,128 people of 31 different nationalities, 55% of whom are women.
With this move, LVMH reinforces the industrial potential of one of its most profitable brands. Bulgari closed the 2023 fiscal year with estimated sales of 3.6 billion euros. Since its acquisition for 4.3 billion euros in 2011, the Italian jeweler has doubled in size and solidified its position as a pillar of LVMH’s Watches & Jewelry division, alongside luxury maisons Tiffany & Co and Chaumet.
The new manufacturing facility is equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, from 3D printing to numerical control systems used in high watchmaking. However, it also maintains traditional methods and an artisanal organization based on “islands” of 20 to 25 jewelers, each responsible for the complete production of a piece. Tens of thousands of jewels are produced monthly in Valenza, including pieces from the luxurious Alta Gamma collection. Unique high jewelry pieces continue to be crafted in the Rome workshop.
With this operation, Bulgari follows in the footsteps of other industry players like Cartier (controlled by the Swiss Richemont group) and Damiani, which have also bet on the Italian region of Valenza as a strategic cluster to retain talent, ensure the traceability of their pieces, and reinforce industrial resilience. Faced with growing global demand and supply chain pressure, in-house production capacity has become a key asset for luxury brands.
In the first quarter of the current fiscal year, the French group chaired by Bernard Arnault saw its revenue contract by 2% to 20.311 billion euros. These results fell short of analyst forecasts, which had anticipated better performance from the conglomerate despite the complex economic and political climate.
