Carrera y Carrera CEO Svetlana Kupriyanova and brand founder Manuel Carrera
Glamorous yellow gold and precious stones were brought from Spain to Macau, as the 129-year old jewelry brand Carrera y Carrera expanded its presence in the Greater China area with a boutique opened last week within the MGM resort.
Originally a small family goldsmith business in late 19th century Madrid, the jeweler’s craft was passed down through generations and rebranded in the 1970s by Mr Manuel Carrera. Today the brand has established “a reference” to the jewelry industry with its “identifiable Carrera style,” said the master goldsmith, who started as a craftsman at the age of 14.
“I was born the same year when the Spanish Civil War ended in 1939, but immediately after, World War II started. When I started working in the jewelry industry, the jewelries at the time were so plain, so boring and cold in a really dark and sad environment,” he recalled. “It was very bad for creation and design, because everyone was so depressed.”
Fortunately, the “dark age of jewelry design” was driven away when art scenes in Europe were revived in the Modernist art movement. The young goldsmith immediately gravitated to art by leading figures in the movement such as Antoni Gaudí.
“My first creations were inspired by nature, methodology, animal and human bodies. With my own style transmitting from sculpture to jewelry, my passion and imagination, I created the special style of Carrera,” he introduced.
“At that time I realized I have to look for a special finish to highlight the volumes of the gold and balance the contrasted colors of gems, so as to make it sweet and gentle to look at and looking for a classic sense of art to make each piece come alive.”
“This probably sounds simple in just a few words, but it actually took my whole life to reach this level of excellence,” stressed the 74-year old master, adding that the “Carrera style” means a persistent path to high creativity and sophisticated sculptural designs.
Each year Mr Carrera chooses a theme to design a new collection with a team of of six young designers. “If I stopped working, I would die,” he smiled.
Following the launch of boutiques in Beijing and Macau, the jeweler is set to expand into Hong Kong and Shanghai. “We have really good plans for the Asian market, because it’s true that Asia is a worldwide economic driver nowadays, and in our opinion, China is prepared to accept such [a] brand now,” said the company’s CEO, Ms Svetlana Kupriyanova.
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