History

Enrico Capra, born in 1947, began his apprenticeship as a gem-setter when he was fourteen years old in Valenza. A few years later, just over 18 years of age, he already had his own business with six employees, including his younger brother Domenico (1953 - 2015).

 

In 1974 Enrico and Domenico set up their own company: this is how Capra Fratelli was born, with headquarters in San Salvatore via Panza 127 (at that time number 125) and trademark 2087AL. The company began working as a subcontractor for several years, with Enrico taking care of the production side and Domenico involved in the commercial aspects. Participations in fairs in Valenza and especially in Vicenza provided a strong client base, so the company expanded and changed its headquarters, moving from its original address to a new and large space, also capable of adequately accommodating external visitors, located in Via Don Guarona 18.

 

At the beginning of the Nineties the company was dissolved and the two brothers went their own way entrepreneurially. In fact, Enrico found other partners, he also approached international trade fairs and gained new markets, no longer dedicating himself to subcontracting. The head office was then moved to Via Panza 7. Since 2003 his daughter Emanuela was also involved in the company, along with her engineer husband Michele Ronconi. Since 2010 there have been no partners outside the family, while since 2014 the company returned to its initial headquarters via Panza 127. Recently the trademark "Enrico Capra" has also been registered.

 

The company now specialises in offering jewellery with coloured and semi-precious gemstones, usually mounted in a particular shade of pink gold, with a warm shade leaning to a peach shade. Their mountings have a light appearance and are particularly designed in relation to particular gemstones, selected specifically for their unusual shapes. These jewels thus enhance agate, malachite, mother-of-pearl, turquoise, quartz, tourmaline. Frequently, items are created at the specific request of customers, usually as variations of the collections already in the catalogue.

 

The company currently distributes its products mainly on foreign markets, especially in Asia (Japan, Korea, Middle East) and Europe (Switzerland, Belgium).  The company has in fact participated over the years in the fairs of Valenza, Vicenza and Basel, while today it meets the operators of the sector usually at the exhibition events in Hong Kong and Dubai.

 

Archive

The company keeps archive material dating back to the early years of Enrico Capra's activity. Despite the changes of location, the entrepreneurial continuity has helped in preserving the fundamental records of the development of the business. Technical data files of the objects in production and sale date back to around 1970, and were first produced on paper, then digitally. The collection of nickel silver models and the collection of rubber moulds date back to the same years and each has thousands of copies. Lastly, several drawings and photographs are available: of course, the most recent examples of these two series are often also available in digital format.

 

Sources

W. Fochesato. R. Massola, Gioielli su carta. Ricchezze dorate fra disegni e cartoline: da Valenza all’Italia, Interlinea, Novara 2018, drawing reproduced on p. 62