Masriera piece on display at MNAC

Bagués Masriera jewellers is one of the oldest companies in Europe. Devoted solely to jewellery-making, the company traces its history back to 1766 and the firm of Carreras, which later joined forces with Masriera (founded in 1839). But it wasn’t until 1985 that Bagués (founded in 1917) acquired Masriera y Carreras and gave Catalan jewellery a boost all around the world.

According to its Managing Director, Mr Oliveras Bagués, the idea behind Bagués Masriera is to create something different based on cultural references and to stay in touch with its roots while, to a certain extent, giving them a contemporary twist.

Bagués Masriera jewellery is divided into two main lines. On the one hand, Bagués seeks supreme quality in every piece, bringing together art, culture, history and tradition to create limited collections of 25 to 30 pieces at most. On the other, Masriera produces historical jewellery, Art Deco and Modernista pieces, exactly as they were in their day because, as Mr Oliveras Bagués says, they can’t be improved upon.

Bagués Masriera

Candelabra designs

The goldsmith who turned Masriera jewellery into works of art of supreme delicacy was Lluís Masriera: painter, playwright, set designer and goldsmith. His success as a goldsmith was so great that he devised a system of moulds so he could work in series and keep up with demand. Thanks to these moulds, exactly the same pieces can still be reproduced today. A guidebook from the period, which brings together all the designs and the colours specified for each piece, has made this possible too. What’s more, Bagués-Masriera is one of the few companies in the sector anywhere in the world that has chosen to keep up the craft and care of enamelling, known as Barcelona enamel, which was also devised by Lluís Masriera.

Today, the former site of the Bagués Masriera jewellery workshop on the Ramblas, founded in 1948, is a hotel belonging to the Derby Hotels Collection chain, and it will house the Masriera museum, one of the landmarks of Catalan Modernisme.

Interestingly, the lamps in the church of La Mercè are the work of Masriera jewellers.

Official website of Bagués.

Official website of Masriera.

Address: Passeig de Gràcia 41, 08008 Barcelona

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