“Every day Capri's energy, colours and scents create something unique and extraordinary; something that we have turned, with unwavering passion, into jewellery.”
The fine jewellery firm Chantecler was founded on the beautiful island of Capri in 1947 by friends Pietro Capuano and Salvatore Aprea. Capuano (affectionately known as ‘Chantecler’ to his friends) was the heir to a noble family of Neapolitan jewellers and was an extravagant character who loved to party and was known for his charismatic and charming personality. Aprea was a stubborn and rebellious man who had read law at university but gave it up to pursue a creative career that would enable him to give free rein to his imagination.
They opened a shop on the Via Camerelle in 1947 and during the 1950s and 1960s, when Capri became a regular holiday destination of the fashionable and glamourous jet set, the shop flourished. During these ‘Dolce Vita’ years, the boutique became a favoured shopping place for a wealth of famous actresses and actors including Greta Garbo, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Joan Crawford and Jacqueline Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis.
The jewellery sought to capture the spirit and joie de vivre of the island with finely crafted pieces in vibrant colours such as coral and turquoise set in warmly hued yellow gold. “Capri’s enchanting beauty is the raw material behind Chantecler’s creative genius. We design pieces of jewellery with love that each reflects the vibrant hues of this island – the shades of its crystal clear sea, the famous sea grottos and the romantic Faraglioni rocks.” The company is proud that it manufactures all its jewellery in Italy with production split between workshops in Naples and Valenza where there is a long standing tradition of fine goldsmithing.