The french Nathalie Guedj is today the managing director of one of the Spanish firms of jewelry with best international projection. After working at Cartier or Van Cleef & Arpels, Guedj came to work in Carrera & Carrera with extensive experience to work in a team of more than one hundred craftsmen. This company launches two new collections a year, always coinciding with the Basel world show. Its headquarters, on the emblematic Serrano Street in Madrid, is the result of a story that begins in 1885 in another street, Santa Isabel, also in the capital.
At the end of the nineteenth century, Madrid was in the throes of modernization, as in Paris, the French senator known hand Haussmann. The Spanish monarchy, headed by Maria Christina of Austria, opted for a reshaping of the city in all respects. The idea was to make Madrid an avant-garde city, a reflection of what once was the entire country for the rest of the world.
It was assumed that the jewelry had been part of this wave of change that ventured a time of great commercial activity for the sector. And so comes the Carrera jewelry, the beginning of an empire, and part of a business that had to compete hard with Art Nouveau pieces that came from France. This tough competition forced them to offer higher quality to their customers, and quality-adjusted prices.
 In 1970, the company gives the final step to be renamed Carrera and Carrera with the union of Manuel and Juan Jose Carrera, prime among them, in a new society. In 1999, the management team changes, and begin a new era with a focus on launching the firm far beyond what had hitherto. Internalization is a success due to two key factors: his recognizable style and superior quality finishes. So, today, 80% of sales are abroad, taking the firm presence in 34 countries, more than 300 outlets (like Harrod's) and 11 own stores.
In 2001, the company changed hands again, as Lladró (porcelain manufacturer) acquires 58% stake. In 2006 Lladró purchases it in its entirety, integrating Carrera and Carrera into one of the largest European groups of Spanish companies. Since then the expansion is a fact, especially in Russia and Japan, currently major consumers of products of the firm, with significant differences between the pieces that are made for each of these markets: small and delicate pieces for Japaneses, large and baroque pieces for Russians.
 After more than a century, Carrera and Carrera pieces have been displayed in museums such as the Yamanashi in Japan, Hadley in Kentucky or the Armory in the Kremlin. There are also few designers who have worked with the firm in the design of new seasons, and familiar faces who have lent their image to the firm..
Throughout its history, Carrera y Carrera has been part of the privileged group of firms with recognition at all levels, both by public and critics as well as competition. For example, Queen Fabiola de Mora y Aragon was married to King Baudouin I of Belgium wearing a tiara of signature, a sign of confidence by the jet-set. Renowned models such as Eugenia Silva or Almudena Fernandez have put their image in the service of Carrera and Carrera.
 We can see that pieces follow a line of unique design. Nature acts as main engine: vegetal spirals, animal inspiration, subtle shapes that take us to the most savage and pure side of our natural environment. The matte and polished finishes harmoniously intermingled give the piece a unique expression, do not forget that it is the quality of those finishes which has given an international reputation to the firm. All jewelry are made by hand and add a lot of hours spent on both the casting made (lost wax) and the finnishing on the metal directly. The king of the house is undoubtedly the gold in their classic colors (white, pink and yellow in particular) and precious stones, sometimes with a discreet presence and the other as true protagonists of the pieces.
 The firm is a member of the Council for Responsible Jewellery Practise (CRJP), an organization that since 2005, brings together members from across the sector engaged in an industry free from any commercial practice that is not transparent and accountable.
 All this said, we are certain that Carrera and Carrera will remain for a long time one of the greatest representatives of the Spanish jewelry worldwide.
Web site: www.carreraycarrera.com |
