Art of silver, since 1891

The current company SALIMBENI s.n.c. of Franco and Giorgio Salimbeni of Florence originated in the year 1891, founded by a German: Ernesto Otto Abele who, coming from Pforzheim, a German city at the forefront for prestigious works in finely worked precious metal, thought to combine German technique with Florentine taste firmly rooted in its Renaissance traditions. Mr. Abele and his Florentine partners Corrado Lotti and Dino Naldi, soon established themselves for a highly qualified craftsmanship, characterized by a production that included a vast assortment of gift items with careful refinement in materials combined with precious metal: Bohemian glassware. and Belgian, jade, ivory, precious woods, precious stones, mosaics and enamels, to perform toilet sets, objects for babies, watches, ornaments, frames, boxes and “objets d’art” in general.

The First World War forced Abel to return to Germany, leaving the company to his partners, Lotti, Naldi & C. Following the retirement of Lotti in 1936, Dino Naldi remained the only owner to face the problems brought about by the second war; the headquarters of the company in Via Foscolo, the villa sold by Abele, was destined to become the command of the French and African military police, but the intervention of an American captain convinced the other allies that trade was necessary for the resumption of economic development national and the villa was cleared.

In the difficult post-war period Naldi found valuable help from his son-in-law Renato Salimbeni with whom he prepared the company for that leap in quality that later allowed his grandchildren to enter the international market. On his death in 1963, Renato, who had worked with him for many years, replaced him by moving the company headquarters to the villa of the Naldi family in Via Senese. Later his sons, Franco and Giorgio, supported their father in all phases of production and business management. In 1973 Renato decided to retire and the company continued its business under their direction, again in Florence but in the new premises in Via dell’Olivuzzo, the current headquarters.

SALIMBENI s.n.c. today enjoys a century-old reputation of solidity and seriousness, and continues its craftsmanship, constant in preserving the ancient traditions of processing: guilloché, hand engravings, fired enamels miniatures on ivory, always interpreted in new ways with the aim to better satisfy long-standing customers and simultaneously develop new markets around the world. Currently, the production is distributed not only in Italy but also in the USA, Japan, the Middle East, throughout Western Europe and in the countries of the former Soviet Union, counting among its customers the names of the most prestigious jewelers in the world.