Jumping for Jewels: The Buccellati Giardino Collection

Ambassador and co-creative director of the historic Italian jewelry house, Buccellati , Lucrezia Buccellati Wildenstein infuses her family’s brand with youthful vibrancy. Born in Miami, then raised in Italy, Wildenstein studied jewelry design at NYC’s Fashion Institute of Technology before becoming a fourth-generation member of their storied high-design establishment. A working mother of two and an accomplished equestrian, Wildenstein deems jewelry and show jumping essentials. “There’s never a day where I actually do not feel like riding,” she says. “Even if I think I do not feel like it, I know I have to go ride because I have a commitment to this animal. There’s a relationship—and there’s a goal.” Wildenstein began riding, in Italy, long before she turned ten. She had her first horse by 14. “I started with jumping,” she says, addressing her appreciation of the adrenaline that discipline provides her. “I did a little bit of dressage, but I did not connect with it in the same way.” Parallel to her years of training, Wildenstein became a fixture on the amateur competition circuit. “When you are competing,” she says, “it is you and the animal working as one entity. It’s not all about me or all about the horse. It’s about the bond. You succeed when this bond is excellent—when you are best trained and the animal is in the best shape.” Wildenstein attributes this bond to a cerebral connection. “Every part of you communicates with the horse,” she says. “They feel what you’re thinking through your hands, your legs, the movement of your body. You are sharing so much information.” Regardless of where she finds herself— around Milan, or Wellington, or Millbrook in the northeast—Wildenstein finds the time to ride, often after mornings working with Europe from the US on debuts like Buccellati’s garden collection, wherein their artisans pepper pastel-colored gems into precious metals through ancient techniques. It helps that her two children enjoy horses, too. “The barn is a family space where we all hang out,” she says. “We try to make an afternoon of it.” — By David Graver Read the rest of the Douglas Elliman Equestrian magazine here.