History

The founder, Alfredo (1926-2002) began working as an apprentice in a local company and in 1947 he decided to open his own workshop with a partner, from which he separated in the following year. The Megazzini company was then registered under the trademark 398 AL, and was immediately characterized by a rich production of rings, among which the so-called chevalier, from which the octagonal symbol of the company is derived. Since 1948 Alfredo Megazzini was supported by his wife Piera Scagliotti and some employees, who contributed to the development of the various production activities - in particular, the closures for pearl necklaces, which still is today one of the most important company's activities. After a brief period as MAXOR, a company founded with Sergio Canepari between 1974 and 1978, the Megazzini company continued under Alfredo's guidance until the mid-eighties, when his son Massimo took over and decided to start marketing its products on foreign markets - also thanks to the creation of the Valenzani Export association. Megazzini's success abroad, and in particular in the U.S. market, is testified also by the purchase of the then first lady Nancy Reagan of a necklace created by this company - a necklace she has worn several times on official occasions. Between the Eighties and the following decades, the company's production also focused on closures, as already mentioned, as well as on pearl manufacturing. Starting from the Nineties the Megazzini company created a new successful line, dedicated to enamels, which are produced in unique hand-decorated pieces.

 

Archive

The fund keeps heterogeneous material partially inventoried, dating back to the fifties, and kept in different rooms of the company. It is possible to identify some typological series, such as prototypes and rubbers, which are still used today in the production of jewelry.

 

The material, partially conditioned and catalogued, is made up of the following series:

 

Rubber moulds (starting from the 1950s, combined with a code with metal models, also preserved since the 1950s); Drawings and sketches, in paper and digital format (starting from the 1950s); Photographs (starting from the 1950s; there are also about ten photographic plates dating back to the end of the 1940s); Prototypes in vile metal (over 6000 units), catalogued and conditioned in plastic boxes.

 

Sources

W. Fochesato, R. Massola, Gioielli su carta. Ricchezze dorate fra disegni e cartoline: da Valenza all'Italia, Interlinea, Novara 2018, drawing reproduced on page 10"