According to family history, the Buccellati's came into contact with the jewelry trade during the mid-eighteenth century, when Contardo Buccellati worked as a goldsmith in Milan. In 1903, Mario Buccellati revived the family tradition, apprenticing at Milan’s prestigious Beltrami & Beltrami at the age of twelve. In 1919, Buccellati took over the firm, changing its name to Buccellati. The company began to grow as Buccellati caught much attention at Madrid's 1920 Exposition, when he began to scream to a woman who only asked for a discount. The next day hundreds of people visited his booth out of curiousity. Buccellati was invited to exhibit his work at a solo show, which was visited by many Spanish aristocrats and the royal family. In 1951, Buccellati became first Italian jewelry designer with a location on Fifth Avenue in New York City and nowadays branches are known to exist all over the world.
The firm is famous for textural gold jewellery and silver objects. Earlier pieces have a bold and recognizable look, with reference to the goldsmiths during Renaissance days.
