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The Spanish company Bagués Masriera holds a privileged position in the international precious jewellery industry. The personal treatment of enamel, together with the rich and timeless legacy of the versatile goldsmith and modernist painter Lluís Masriera mean that it impossible to draw boundaries between jewellery and art in the work that this company produces.

With its main markets in Japan and the United States, this business now faces new challenges such as the creation of the Hotel Bagués Masriera, and entry into other powerful markets such as Russia and the Middle East. We interview Oriol Oliveras, who is a member of the company’s founding family Oliveras-Bagués.

Bagués and Masriera are two surnames that are associated with the most exclusive jewellery and metalwork tradition in Barcelona. How did the two brands come together?
The Masriera company dates from 1839, and its huge contribution to the world of jewellery started around 1900 which coincided with the explosion of the modernist movement that was taking place at the turn of the century. It is at that time that the painter, dramatist, set designer and goldsmith Lluís Masriera i Roses's (1872—1958) Art Nouveau creations caused a revolution in the jewellery world as it was understood at the time. Bagués is a family company based in Barcelona and dedicated to jewellery making. It was founded in 1917. In 1985 the two companies merged, and both brands began to operate jointly, although their collaboration reached its heights in the 1960s.

What is the difference between Bagués and Masriera?
Masriera represents the modernist jewellery known internationally as Art Nouveau, and has a very clearlydefined style based on the legacy of Lluís Masriera. Bagués is characterised by fiercely contemporary collections that aim to bring innovation to the jewellery world. It is a brand which is sensitive to its environment – in this case Barcelona and the Mediterranean – which fuses the concepts of fashion and creativity.

Is it still a family company?
Bagués Masriera now belongs to the Bagués family. There are no longer any members of the Masriera family in the company. The fusion of the two companies was carried out partly in order to revive the historical legacy of Masriera, and make sure that it became well-known.

“Our aim is to ensure that the Masriera legacy forms a part of collections in international museums”

What does this revival of the Masriera legacy entail?
We aim to ensure that his work forms part of collections in international museums such as the Metropolitan Museum in New York, which has acquired an original piece from the modernist era just this year. There are more than 4,000 drawings, moulds, dies, and pieces of jewellery by Masriera in historical collections. We dedicate ourselves to revaluing them, ensuring that they are known about, and, of course, marketing the re-editions of the classic pieces which have never stopped being produced in Barcelona.

Where are the borders between art and jewellery making in Masriera’s creations?
It is impossible to make that distinction: art and jewellery are completely fused in his work. Masriera is characterised precisely by the fact that he is the driving force behind the idea of jewellery as ‘jewellery-art’.

Are all the pieces still handcrafted?
At Masriera we still employ the same techniques that were used in the times of modernism. The pieces contain enamel, which is the result by means of a totally traditional process that not only requires the work of a skilled craftsman or craftswoman but also artistic sensitivity in the treatment of colour. That is why we call this ‘jewellery-art’.