Demaldè Milano, the timeless charm of fine art cufflinks
Interview with Loredana Demaldè, founder of the historic shop of the same name, leader in cufflinks
We chose to explore the theme of cufflinks by interviewing Loredana, founder with her husband Elvio of the Demaldè shop specialized in the production and marketing of vintage and contemporary cufflinks and bijoux.
Is 2023 an important year for your shop?
That's exactly how it is and we are very proud of it. 1943-2023 We are close to celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Demaldè company, a historic shop and shop in Milan in via Ponte Vetero 22.
In fact, we have obtained both the recognition of "historic workshop" from the Municipality of Milan, understood as "commercial and artisan activities with strong urban roots such as to confer the value of cultural heritage and at risk of extinction ... commercial and artisan companies operating in the city for over 50 years carrying out the same activity, with reference to the product sector covered" that the recognition of "historic shop" by the Lombardy Region as
"characterized by the continuity over time, for at least 40 years, of the management, the sign and the merchandise offered, and by other factors, such as the location in prestigious structures and the conservation of historic furnishings and equipment."
To obtain these recognitions we have presented a very extensive and in-depth documentation and in our research we have come across historical documents of great charm, dating back as far as 1923.
What is the history of your shop?
Ours has always been a family run business. We know that initially the property belonged to Mr. Martinelli while we know of the subsequent owner that she was a lady who lived next to the shop and was a great lover of jewelry. As she got older she could no longer take charge of the business and in 1985 she sold it to me and my husband Elvio, a young couple with a passion for jewellery.
Even the building that houses us has a fascinating history, albeit a bit incomplete in some chronological sections. It is a historic building from the 1700s, located on the side of Piazza del Carmine; it is said that it was the convent of the Chiesa del Carmine.
When we took over the shop it was not in good condition so we completely renovated it with the help of the architect Giovanna Arzarello who chose to characterize it with a wonderful Memphis laminate by Sottsass. So we have this nice furniture inside which is typical of the 80s and we still like it very much.
Even the showcase is a characterizing element of our shop, it is in fact one of the few original historical showcases with the surge of old Milan and a wonderful Fontana handle on the entrance door.
Exhibitions, events, art, fashion: your presence in the world of communication is widespread and prestigious
Our work is our passion, we like to tell it and live it at 360 degrees. In the shop there are prestigious fashion magazines that have presented our products over the years and tourist guides of Milan that have told our story.
We have participated in various exhibitions, including for example, to mention the last in chronological order, Stile Milano at Palazzo Morando in which we presented our jewels in combination with clothes from the 50s to the present day.
We also collaborate with various institutions, including La Scala and the Piccolo Teatro in Milan, offering our jewels for stage performances for many years.
The perfect marriage between fashion and jewelery also sees us present in fashion shows, starting with Antonio Marras with whom we have a special and long-standing relationship.
Without forgetting our book dedicated entirely to cufflinks entitled "i Gemelli da polso" published in 2000 by Federico Motta Editore, a complete and unique collection of its kind to talk about this jewel with timeless charm.
What path has led you to the current product offering?
In our shop we have a wide range of products of different types and manufactures to the point that it is not always easy to answer an apparently simple question when we are asked what we sell.
First of all, my husband Elvio is a gemologist and a great lover of jewelery in general. We started with jewels that we designed and produced ourselves, supported by a careful selection of what the market offered and weighted according to our taste.
Our products have always been voluntarily niche, initially in the 80s with fashion bijoux. Later, having obtained the precious license, we introduced silver and gold jewellery.
Crossing the threshold you enter the eclectic and versatile Demaldè World, can you tell us about it?
We have 12 square meters of shop available and we use them very intensely to offer our customers the best choice among all the jewels we are in love with, whether they are produced by us or purchased. We have a space dedicated to antique jewels and vintage bijoux from the late nineteenth century to the present day and then we offer a large section of new innovative jewels in terms of shapes and design.
Many of the jewels were designed and manufactured by us; it is my husband's passion who has attended various jewelery design courses and has carefully studied antique and vintage jewellery. You can learn a lot from the past, which is why we love visiting antique markets, discovering particular and unusual objects, to buy both to make them available for sale and to draw inspiration for our new creations.
This path leads us today to have a range that includes antiques, vintage and new, in the three metals, gold, silver and non-precious. We deal with all types of product and nothing is really missing; necklaces, rings, earrings and bracelets, brooches and cameos to conclude with the highlight, our cufflinks. The latter are truly one of our peculiarities because we have an infinite variety of themes and forms available.
Where does the passion for cufflinks come from?
Is your range of cufflinks so wide that people can almost always find what they are looking for?
After decades of research, we have collected and selected a wide range of classic and original cufflinks each with its own history and origins; in fact, we have twins who truly come from all over the world, from the Orient to California.
Our passion is such that over the years we have enriched the collection to the point that we deal with practically all possible subjects.
People come to us looking for a specific theme, just to name a few:
- the flags of the world
- all the sports practiced, for example, one of our models has a twin with skis on one side and snowshoes on the other.
- music and all the composers, starting with Mozart (I remember it well because it was one of the very few cases in which they asked us and we didn't have the subject at home!)
- the different football teams
- all possible and imaginable animals, going into the specifics of the individual dog breeds (I remember a lady who, despite the many variations of dachshund, was desperately looking for a version with long hair!) or with mobile elements, such as turtles that move their heads and the paws.
Among the various requests of our customers, for example, we had two spouses who had met at a sailing course and bought sailing-themed cufflinks for them and for the witnesses; another couple instead worked in the world of finance and the two spouses wanted to celebrate their wedding wearing coin-themed cufflinks.
What are the main reasons for buying your cufflinks?
Cufflinks are mainly bought by men, also because in formal wear the cufflink and the watch are the two jewels typically worn by the male public to tell their stories, talk about themselves, express their personality and passions.
When it comes to a gift, the purchase is also often made by women while the cufflink for female wear is unfortunately much less common.
Furthermore, it is limiting to say that the cufflink is worn on an elegant suit because we have customers who have a real passion for cufflinks, who wear them on any occasion, even on sports shirts, and who own a large number of them.
Furthermore, it is not always easy to find the right gift for a man and anniversaries such as weddings, christenings, confirmations, an 18th birthday, graduation or an anniversary are perfect occasions to wear or give cufflinks. We have therefore chosen to offer our customers real added value by packaging our cufflinks in cases that emphasize their best features; We have been turning to Theca cases for many years and we have chosen the cufflink cases from the Gentlemen, Scuro and Cubo Black collections.