Despite being "affected like everyone else" by the current slump, Damiani, the Italian jewellery group, is forging ahead with a string of ambitious ventures as it has "important goals to achieve in the short-term", vice-president Sylvia Damiani told The Times Business.
Damiani is currently developing a collection conceptualised by its current testimonial and family friend, US actress Sharon Stone, and plans to make further inroads in the fashion watch market with pieces of its own creation.
That is besides launching a collection reviving its signature Gomitolo pavé ring in 12 versions celebrating Italian cities and art represented by precious and semi-precious stones and white, yellow and rose gold - a significantly colourful move away from its trademark use of white gold, platinum and diamonds.
Ms Damiani was in Malta last weekend for the "Damiani Privée" evening hosted at the Portomaso store of Diamonds International, the group's Malta representative. The showcase event was held to raise Damiani's profile as a traditional jeweller besides a worldwide brand - a collection of exquisite custom-made jewellery was also on display - to Maltese clientele.
In a telephone interview from her office in Milan just before travelling to Malta a week ago, Ms Damiani said the high-end jewellery sector was witnessing signs of an upturn.
"We are already seeing the light," she said. "We really feel that our field is recovering quicker. We create fashionable jewellery that is long-trend; it is a fusion of design and tradition. When people buy jewellery, they are not thinking that it will go out of fashion in one season. We instruct our designers that even the most extravagant pieces must be such that customers are happy to wear them every single day for at least 10 years. The jewellery is conceived to be forever.
"Gold itself is rising in this period - and it has an emotional value that is related to important events of our private lives. That is when most people buy jewellery. Our customers may not be as wealthy as before but they are still affluent and they still buy jewellery. Their willingness to do so will soon recover. We can already see that."
The Damiani Group has its roots in Italy's goldsmithing capital Valenza. It was founded in 1924 by Enrico Damiani whose reputation for craftsmanship was favoured by prominent families from Italy and overseas.
Between the 1960s and 1990s, Enrico's son Damiano expanded the company by promoting design research and technical innovation. By 1976, the group won its first Diamonds International Awards - with its subsidiaries, the group went on to win 21 awards over the years. Damiani, still run as a family business by Damiano's children Guido, Silvia and Giorgio, added the Salvini line to its portfolio in 1986 and Bliss in 2000. It acquired luxury brands Alfieri & St John (established in Italy in 1977) in 1998, Calderoni in 2006, and Rocca last year. It has subsidiaries in all major cities and has 55 monobrand stores; its latest store opened at 10 Old Bond Street, London, recently.
The group was listed on the Italian Stock Exchange in 2007.
Ms Damiani admits that a handful of projects have been postponed, namely expansion in emerging markets like India and China, but the "strategy of the medium- and long-term" is intact.
"It is a very normal and wise strategy," she pointed out. "My brothers and I like to be positive. You have to be like that as an entrepreneur - that is what keeps you dreaming and following your goals."
She said Damiani's competitive advantage in this lucrative sector lies with the jeweller's reputation as the Italian specialist for tradition, quality and expertise and by maintaining jewellery - staunchly made in Italy - as its core business. Damiani prides itself on launching a fully-fledged collection annually, Ms Damiani emphasised.
Last year, the group entered two collaborations to create jewellery for Jil Sander and Maison Martin Margiela. A similar agreement was signed with Gianfranco Ferré earlier this year.
Besides presenting new business prospects, Ms Damiani described the new ventures as "an important exchange of creativity and an opportunity to collaborate on different aspects, like marketing".
Asked about Malta's relationship with the Damiani brand, Silvia Damiani said she does not see major differences between markets.
"I really think that the jewellery business is very global," she pointed out. "Most of the pieces that sell in the US, Japan, or the Middle East, are the same that are sold in Malta. When there is a collection that people like, it does not need explanation - it is really the one which sells best."