**SOLD** Italian 1960s 18k gold link bracelet by Napoleone Marchisio

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Gorgeous and unique piece. This striking Italian 1960s link bracelet is made up of three textured rondels snugly fitting together and linking to another three and thus creating a visually forceful expression.  A timeless design that can bear its own to any outfit or occasion. Italian craftsmanship done right.  Similar examples can be found as far back as the 1920s and Bulgari has produced a nearly identical jewel.

21 cm / 8.27inch long

Weight: 37 grams.

About the maker:

The first official news of a Marchisio in the goldsmith’s field in Turin dates back to 1649, when Gian Piero Marchisio, who worked with Joannin Marchisio, was appointed jeweler to his Royal Highnesses. Other traces of the Marchisio family can be found with the entry in 1859 of Felice Marchisio, born in 1846, into the goldsmith atelier of his older brother Antonio to help his widowed mother with thirteen children. With the transfer of the capital to Florence and the consequent economic crisis of the city, Felice moved to Paris to learn the new manufacturing techniques and to refine his skills. Following the siege of Paris by the Prussian troops, he happily escapes and returns to Turin bringing with him the most skilled workers of the laboratory where he worked. Together with his brother he set up Fratelli Marchisio with headquarters in the central Via Po in Turin. The factory expands rapidly, becoming the largest and most important in the city and collaborates with other ateliers in the design and construction of the casket, donated by the city to the future Queen Margherita, wife of Umberto I. In 1903 Felice Marchisio promotes the goldsmith school in Turin, whose first pupil was his son Francesco. With the outbreak of the First World War, the factory was forced to reduce personnel and temporarily suspend the production of jewels and replace it with billiards. Meanwhile, the reins of the company passed into the hands of Felice’s nephew, Napoleone, who was forced to close the factory with the advent of the Second World War. After the end of the war Napoleone and his son Giovanni reopened the “Napoleone Marchisio”, which immediately achieved great commercial success. In 1968 the Marchisio company was transformed into the current Marchisio Giovanni e C. snc, which extended the sale of its products all over the world and became one of the suppliers of the most important international jewelers.

Marchisio Giovanni & C. snc, Moncalieri (Turin), 1859 -, SIUSA
F.lli Marchisio, before 1880
Felice Marchisio, 1880 – 1924
Napoleone Marchisio, 1925 – 1937 and 1950 – 1967
Luigi Bertello (production of billiards), 1938 – 1949