For over twenty years, the Bernardini shop in Milan has been a reference point for those looking to buy, sell, and repair antique jewellery and wristwatches. For generations, the family business has focused on researching, selecting and restoring rare and precious pieces, with an almost obsessive interest in the materials and craftsmanship of the pre-WWII era. Together with Franco, his father and company founder, Max Bernardini has recently taken the business in a new direction: il vintage di lusso, or luxury vintage.
After having collected the most important pieces from the world’s most prestigious luxury houses, Bernardini decided to create a space worthy of displaying and selling items of unparalleled excellence and refinement. Among the brands represented: Gucci, Hermès, Vuitton, Goyard, Dunhill, along with others perhaps not as widely known to the general public but equally prestigious in terms tradition and quality.
Inaugurated in November 2005, the new store looks onto the church Santa Maria delle Grazie, home to both Bramante’s cupola as well as Leonardo’s masterpiece, “The Last Supper”. Part shop, part gentleman’s club, part library, the interior has been conceived to make even the most discriminating collector feel both intrigued and at home. Great care is taken to display each perfectly restored item in an elegant, yet playful manner. Clients are encouraged to relax on the Chesterfield sofas with a drink and whatever reading suits their fancy: be it a rare illustrated book about antique watches or the latest catalogues from the world’s leading auction houses. What Bernardini offers is an atmosphere: a haven for those who seek elegance, but abhor ostentation.
Max Bernardini has also carefully assembled a team of experts and specialists qualified to carry out special orders: from a monogrammed belt buckle to personalizing the interior of an antique steamer trunk, any request will be met to the highest standards.