Morellato is an Italian jewellery and watch brand with origins dating back to Venice in 1930. Originally established by Giulio Morellato as a small workshop, the business initially gained recognition for manufacturing leather watch straps before evolving into a comprehensive jewellery and watch company. Today, Morellato serves as one of the principal brands within the Morellato Group, a major Italian conglomerate in the jewellery and watch sector.[1]

Note: While some historical accounts regarding the company’s earliest location vary across different sources, the brand consistently identifies Venice and 1930 as the definitive starting point of its history.[2]

1930: The beginning

The history of Morellato began in 1930 when Giulio Morellato opened a small watch and jewellery workshop in Venice. During this period, the rising popularity of wristwatches created a significant opportunity for specialized strap manufacturing.

Morellato subsequently focused on producing leather straps for wristwatches. The company built a reputation for craftsmanship and eventually supplied straps to prestigious Swiss watch manufacturers. This expertise in watch straps became a foundational element of the company’s future success.[1]

The Carraro family

Following the death of Giulio Morellato, management transitioned to associates who had worked closely with him, including Silvano Carraro. His sons, Massimo and Marco Carraro, later became pivotal figures in the company’s development.[1]

A significant turning point occurred in 1990, when Massimo Carraro, his brother Marco, and Cristina de’ Stefani acquired the company’s entire share capital. Under their leadership, Morellato expanded beyond its traditional watch-strap business to develop proprietary jewellery and watch collections.[1]

The most significant shift in Morellato’s modern history was the strategic decision to merge its traditional manufacturing expertise with Italian jewellery design.

In 1999, the brand introduced a major jewellery concept centred on the idea of “Jewellery for Living” — or Gioielli da Vivere in Italian. Rather than positioning jewellery exclusively as a reserve for formal occasions or high luxury, Morellato promoted it as an accessory to be worn and enjoyed in daily life.[1]

This philosophy became integral to the brand’s identity and can be summarised as follows:

Jewellery should be precious, but it should also be wearable, contemporary and part of everyday life.

This approach enabled Morellato to occupy a distinct market position between traditional fine jewellery and fashion jewellery.

Morellato articulates its philosophy through several recurring themes:

• Italian design
• Quality
• Contemporary style
• Precious materials
• Wearability
• Emotional value
• Accessibility
• Craftsmanship

The company emphasises a reinterpretation of luxury where value is not defined by extravagance or ostentation. Instead, Morellato presents luxury as something connected to beauty, emotion and personal experience.[1]

Consequently, the brand’s positioning differs from that of traditional high-jewellery houses. Its identity is best understood as a combination of Italian heritage, jewellery craftsmanship, contemporary fashion and everyday wearability.

Jewellery is currently one of Morellato’s most recognisable product categories. Collections have utilised materials including:

• Sterling silver
• Natural pearls
• Natural stones
• Zircons
• Gold and other precious materials in selected collections
• Stainless steel and other contemporary materials

Historically, the brand has combined precious materials with more accessible alternatives to create jewellery at comparatively approachable price points.[1]

Morellato’s design language typically emphasises clean shapes, contemporary proportions and Italian styling, rather than the elaborate aesthetics associated with traditional high jewellery. This results in pieces designed to complement both everyday fashion and formal attire.

Watches represent another key component of Morellato’s evolution. The company possesses a unique heritage in this category, as it did not originate as a watch movement manufacturer; its original expertise lay in watch straps.

After establishing its jewellery business, Morellato expanded into complete watch collections. The watch division subsequently became a vital element of the brand’s international offering.[1]

Morellato watches generally prioritise:

• Italian-inspired design
• Fashionability
• Wearability
• Jewellery-like detailing
• Contemporary aesthetics
• Accessible luxury

This focus gives Morellato watches a distinct identity compared to traditional Swiss brands that concentrate primarily on mechanical horology.

Watch straps remain central to Morellato’s historical identity. The strap business dates back to the brand’s early decades and became sufficiently established that Morellato supplied components to prestigious Swiss watchmakers. The company cites a strong heritage in Made in Italy watch-strap manufacturing.[1]

It is important to note that Morellato did not start as a fashion jewellery company. It began with watchmaking accessories and craftsmanship, later evolving into jewellery and watches. This manufacturing background remains a significant part of its brand narrative.

A characteristic strategy of Morellato is the combination of precious and accessible materials. For instance, collections may pair silver, pearls or stones with contemporary materials, allowing the company to produce jewellery with a premium appearance without positioning every item as traditional fine jewellery.

Official brand descriptions emphasise the combination of harmonious proportions, precious materials and Italian elegance. As such, the brand sits broadly within the territory of contemporary Italian jewellery rather than haute joaillerie.

It is necessary to distinguish between Morellato the brand and Morellato Group the company.

• The Morellato brand is the consumer-facing jewellery and watch label.
• The Morellato Group is the larger Italian corporate entity that owns, operates or manages a portfolio of jewellery, watch and retail businesses.

According to the group’s history, it has expanded substantially through acquisitions and international development. Its portfolio has included brands such as Sector No Limits, Philip Watch, Bluespirit and La Petite Story, alongside other businesses and licensed brands.[2]

The group describes itself as a major Italian jewellery and watch group and a global leader in high-end watch straps.[2]

The development of the wider group provides context for how the Morellato brand achieved international reach.

1990s

The Carraro family acquired the company and began transforming Morellato from its traditional watch-strap heritage into a broader jewellery and watch business. The Gioielli da Vivere concept became central to this new identity.[2]

2000s

The group began expanding internationally and broadening its portfolio. It established operations in markets including France and Hong Kong, while simultaneously expanding its brand portfolio through acquisitions.[2]

Sector and Philip Watch

Significant expansion occurred when the group acquired the Sector Group, bringing brands including Sector and Philip Watch into its portfolio. This strengthened the group’s position in watches and extended its international reach.[2]

Retail expansion

The group also expanded into jewellery and watch retail through businesses such as Bluespirit, developing a multi-brand retail presence alongside its individual brands.[2]

International development

Over time, the group established or expanded operations across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North America. Corporate history lists operations or offices in locations including Hong Kong, Bangkok, Dubai and Miami.[2]

Morellato has developed significantly beyond its original Italian market. Corporate information indicates that the brand is distributed internationally, particularly throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Historical brand pages have described a distribution network spanning 45 countries and approximately 3,000 stores, although these figures should be viewed as historical rather than necessarily current data.

The wider Morellato Group has continued to expand its international footprint through both subsidiaries and acquisitions.[2]

Morellato occupies a specific niche within the jewellery market. It is not a traditional high-jewellery maison like Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels or Bulgari, nor is it simply a low-cost fashion-jewellery label.

Instead, Morellato operates in the space of accessible, contemporary Italian luxury. Its proposition is based on providing:

Italian design + perceived luxury + quality materials + everyday usability + relatively accessible pricing.

The brand explicitly describes its approach as a new interpretation of luxury, moving away from excessive ostentation towards something more emotional and usable in everyday life.[1]

The historical Jewellery for Living concept indicates Morellato’s target consumer. The brand primarily caters to consumers seeking jewellery or watches that are:

• Stylish but not excessively formal
• Premium-looking but relatively accessible
• Suitable for everyday use
• Contemporary rather than highly traditional
• Connected to Italian design
• Appropriate for gifting
• Easy to combine with modern clothing

This makes Morellato particularly relevant to the fashion-conscious middle and upper-middle consumer rather than exclusively to collectors of rare gemstones or haute joaillerie.

Morellato’s identity rests on five major pillars:

🇮🇹 Italian heritage

The brand traces its history to Venice and emphasises Italian design and manufacturing heritage.

💎 Contemporary jewellery

Morellato reinterprets jewellery for modern everyday wear rather than treating it purely as ceremonial luxury.

⌚ Watchmaking heritage

Its roots in watch straps provide the brand with a genuine historical connection to the watch industry.

✨ Accessible luxury

The company aims to make the aesthetic and emotional appeal of luxury more attainable.

🌿 Modern materials and sustainability

Morellato has increasingly incorporated sustainability considerations into its materials and production. For example, its current Italian website states that its “Precious” collections use 925 sterling silver from recycled sources certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC).

Describing Morellato simply as a “luxury jewellery brand” can be misleading. A more accurate definition is an Italian contemporary jewellery and watch brand with an accessible-luxury positioning.

The concept of Made in Italy is central to Morellato’s storytelling. The brand repeatedly emphasises Italian design, craftsmanship, material selection and its historical roots in Venice. Corporate history presents this Italian manufacturing heritage as a foundation of the group’s identity.[1]

However, not every Morellato product is necessarily manufactured entirely in Italy. Like many international jewellery and watch groups, the company maintains a global supply, manufacturing and distribution structure. “Italian design” and “Made in Italy” should therefore be considered in the context of the specific product and collection.

Morellato is part of the privately controlled Morellato Group, which is associated with the Carraro family.

The group’s modern expansion was driven significantly by Massimo Carraro and Marco Carraro following their acquisition of the company in 1990.[1] The group subsequently developed from a company historically centred on watch straps into a diversified jewellery, watch and retail organisation.

Today, the group describes itself as a major European player in jewellery and watch multi-brand retail, in addition to its manufacturing and brand activities.[2]

The most distinctive feature of Morellato is its connection of three different traditions:

1. Traditional Italian craftsmanship
2. Watchmaking and leather-strap heritage
3. Contemporary fashion jewellery

While many jewellery brands begin with jewellery and then expand into watches, Morellato’s history is unusual because its roots are strongly connected to watch straps, followed by the development of its own jewellery and watch collections.

Its Jewellery for Living philosophy provided the brand with a clear modern identity: jewellery does not have to be reserved for special occasions but can be part of everyday life.[1]

• 1930 — Giulio Morellato establishes a watch and jewellery workshop in Venice.
• 1930s onward — The company specialises increasingly in leather watch straps.[2]
• Later decades — Morellato develops its manufacturing and watch-strap expertise and supplies prestigious watch manufacturers.
• 1980s — Massimo and Marco Carraro become involved in the family business.[2]
• 1990 — The Carraro family acquires the entire company, marking a major strategic turning point.[2]
• 1999 — Morellato establishes its modern jewellery identity around the Gioielli da Vivere / Jewellery for Living concept.
• 2000s — International expansion accelerates and the group expands its jewellery and watch portfolio.
• 2006 — The group acquires Sector Group, including Sector and Philip Watch.[2]
• 2007 onward — Expansion into additional international markets and retail activities.
• 2010s — Further acquisitions, international subsidiaries and brand development.
• 2020s — The Morellato Group continues its expansion as a major European jewellery and watch group, including through large-scale retail acquisitions.[2]
• Today — Morellato operates as a major Italian contemporary jewellery and watch brand within the broader Morellato Group.[2]

1. History – Morellato Store
2. Morellato Group – HISTORY