Pietro Rancan
Owner, together with his brother Dario, and Commercial Director Rancangelo
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“Design and innovation go hand in hand like never before”.
A motto that is already saying a lot about the approach to the precious world of jewelery of this Venetian company founded on 25 September 1960 by Angelo Rancan.
An all-Italian reality, where computers and hi-tech machinery coexist with the experience of craftsmen who are able to forge unique details of gold and leather goods that taste of luxury and extreme quality.
Pietro Rancan, co-owner of the family business together with his brother Dario, guides us through the history, tradition and innovation of Rancangelo.
What was it like to inherit the family business? Are you happy about that or did you have other dreams?
“It was very natural, also because I was born and raised in the company. I started working in the factory at 14, learning all the various processes. My father, noticing my creative flair, assigned me to diamond polishing, where even imagination plays an important role. There has never been room for other dreams, and I’m happy with that: my business has always been at the centre of my life”.
Was the beginning hard for such a young man?
“When I also started dealing with the commercial sector, I woke up very early in the morning and, with my backpack, I took the train to visit customers, mainly concentrated in the Milan area. Sometimes, on Saturday mornings after only a few hours of sleep (after all I was very young and certainly didn’t pull back on having fun), I would get in the car and go to the Apennines to deliver the goods destined for the rest of the Italian market. Many memories, but also many sacrifices”.
Is there a role model you draw your inspiration from in your job?
“My father, no doubt, who used to repeat to me and my brother: ‘Learn the art and lay it aside’. He represented a great example of generosity, commitment, resourcefulness and genius. I owe him a lot. I would summarise his legacy with a quote from Goethe: ‘Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it’.
It is precisely the genius and the ability to reinvent oneself that enabled our company to overcome all the difficulties and global economic crises that occurred over the years.”.
How is your creative process structured? What is the goal you are aiming for?
“I heavily relay on imagination. And I sleep little. At night I like to work out my intuitions, thinking about how to pursue them, and during the day I almost always realise that I have taken the right path.
My goal has always been to make unique jewels of their kind. This is why I have filed so many (26 international) patents in my career.
Starting from the Omega duo, a reversible jewel, produced by combining 2 different metal colours and with different finishes, which allow you to have two jewels in one. Created in 1999, it has been the flagship model and company identification for many years. When we presented it for the first time at the Vicenza fair, a very long queue of customers had formed outside the stand and we collected 12 quintals of orders. It represented a complete novelty for the market. This is what I aim for when I create a new jewel, because it is exactly being able to fulfill my fantasy that gives me the best satisfaction”.
Any other iconic jewel in your collections?
“After creating eyewear lines for important brands, such as Gianfranco Ferré and Porsche Design, I wanted to leave my very personal mark in that market segment as well.
So we created our proposal of gold eyewear distinguished by another patent filed in 2003: a gold-coated shaft, made of a resistant material but with shape memory, and therefore flexible. From this innovation has also arisen a new jewellery line: light, non-deformable threads, which offer the possibility of creating unusual shapes that do not require closures.
Another example is the Princess line, the Masterpiece of which is made up of 5,000 hand assembled pieces that required a whole week of work”.
What are the main difficulties you encounter on the market?
“This point is connected to the previous one: the impossibility of defending the intellectual property of one’s creations, due to bureucratic delays and investments that should be undertaken.
We live in a world where original ideas are cannibalised by others”.
How is your product offer structured?
“We have three proprietary brands. Rancangelo deals with traditional jewellery, where gold is the protagonist and pieces are almost exclusively handcrafted.
For Dario&Peter we develop jewels that combine quartz and natural stones with precious metals, which we buy directly in the mine and cut internally, so as to achieve creativity and unique designs.
The latest line, on the other hand, combines jewel details with leather – after all we work in a district famous not only for jewellery, but also for prestigious leathers – giving life to very exclusive bag collections”.
Where does the production take place?
“Everything is produced in Italy. The strength of our made in Italy lies in our ability to create originals, new items. Giving life to beautiful objects that did not exist before.
To this is added our ability to invent new machinery capable of developing our original ideas, as well as the ability to do well the things we think about and the passion for attention to detail that make each jewel unique. This also implies a good organisation within the company. This combination of factors can be copied, but is very hard to replicate in its peculiarity. This is Made in Italy”.
But does it still make sense producing in Italy?
“Yes, producing in Italy has several advantages: tradition, skilled labour, even if on the verge of extinction, and the recognition that is still guaranteed abroad. It is, of course, very difficult for an Italian entrepreneur to compete with countries that are in any case evolved in terms of know-how. High labour costs is what damages us the most”.
Did you have to struggle as Italian entrepeneur to build and maintain your business?
“I struggled and even risked. If a hundred years ago the goldsmith’s home was Germany, gradually the productions moved to Italy. But 30 years ago the business was simpler, there were only a few large wholesalers for Italy and abroad as interlocutors. After that, trade fairs spread and customers wanted to directly interact with producers. That’s when I started travelling (still today I’m away from home 6 months a year), I learned English, and I also risked a lot. In some countries you took a taxi, but you never gave the correct address out of fear that they would understand what you had in your suitcase, or you wouldn’t even leave the hotel room for dinner, fearing that you would never find your samples again. And you never slept on the plane”.
How do you organise the distribution of your items?
“Until now in the traditional way, participating in trade fairs and relying on the network of agents. However, the launch of our e-commerce is imminent. A sales channel I strongly believe in”.
If I say Sustainability?
“It is a crucial theme. Today more than ever you can not ignore this issue. We started dealing with the issue already 20 years ago, being very careful, for example, to assess that our raw materials came from mines where child labour is not exploited. Today we have also started a process that will lead us to certify our integrity and sustainability”.