CIAO JESSICA: In the year of its centenary, is stepping up its game by naming Jessica Chastain its global brand ambassador.
The Academy Award winner is to appear in Damiani’s spring 2024 ad campaign, to be released later in the season, a move that is in sync with the Italian jeweler’s legacy of conscripting celebrities for its ad campaigns.
“I am delighted to be Damiani’s global ambassador and to represent the values of this wonderful company throughout the world. One hundred years of history, passion, craftsmanship [and] creativity are an important legacy worth preserving,” Chastain said. “It is an honor for me to be a part of a family that safeguards and passes on Italy’s artisanal excellence worldwide.”
Chastain joins South Korean actress and model Lee Sung-Kyoung as a Damiani ambassador.
The Hollywood actress — who most recently costarred alongside Anne Hathaway in “Mothers’ Instinct,” a Benoît Delhomme-directed psychological thriller movie — cohosted a gala night last month in Milan to celebrate Damiani’s anniversary, which drew Sophia Loren and Sung-Kyoung, as well as local celebrities.
On that occasion Chastain posed for photographers in a strapless dark gown and an impressive necklace named “Mimosa Eternal Blue” featuring a 100-karat blue sapphire framed by diamonds. The jewel is among the one-of-a-kind pieces that Damiani showcases in its exhibition being held until April 28 at Milan’s Gallerie d’Italia to spotlight the brand’s craftsmanship and creativity.
“It is an honor to welcome Jessica into our family. Her extraordinary qualities as an actress and as a person are known to all, but ours is also a choice of the heart,” said the company’s president Guido Damiani in a statement. “Jessica is a sophisticated, committed, acclaimed woman, but most of all, she is authentic and true to her values — just like us. Together, I am sure we will do great things and achieve important new goals.”
Guido Damiani, Silvia Damiani, Jessica Chastain and Giorgio Damiani attend the Damiani Centenary gala dinner in Milan.
Daniele Venturelli/Corbis via Getty Images for Damiani
In a recent interview with WWD, Damiani highlighted how his father, Damiano, a second-generation member of the founding family, disrupted the industry by tapping a roster of A-listers for its campaigns, from Brad Pitt and Isabella Rossellini to Sharon Stone and Jennifer Aniston, at a time when advertisements were not widespread among brands.
The storied high jeweler was founded in Valenza, Italy, in 1924 by Enrico Grassi Damiani, Guido’s grandfather, and has gained celebrity fans Stone, Tilda Swinton, Loren and Gwyneth Paltrow.
In addition to the namesake brand, the Damiani Group comprises the Bliss label introduced in 2000; jeweler Calderoni, which was acquired in 2006; retailer Rocca, bought in 2008, as well as leading glassmaker Venini, which the group first invested in in 2016.
The company said that Chastain was introduced to the company and family during a visit to Venini’s premises in Murano, Italy, escorted by Silvia Damiani, vice president of Damiani Group and president of the glassmaker.