Our history
With a centuries-old tradition, a qualified selection of Haute Horlogerie brands and a leading brand in the field of diamonds, Bedetti is today the point of reference for a qualified national and international clientele in the heart of the Eternal City.
Located in the central Piazza San Silvestro, in the immediate vicinity of Montecitorio and the Trevi Fountain, Bedetti is part of the Association of Historic Shops of Excellence in Rome, which brings together the names that, over time, have been able to interpret with authentic passion and seriousness the best spirit of Roman entrepreneurship.
Today at the helm of the company are Marcello and Stefano Bedetti, the fourth generation, always supported and advised by their father Massimo Bedetti, one of the leading international experts in the field of gemology. They have the task of meeting the challenges of modernity, while safeguarding the values of a great tradition, started over a century ago by Antonio Bedetti, former orchestra conductor at Santa Cecilia, to whom we also owe a contribution important in the creation of the Pincio water clock, designed in 1867 by the Dominican Father Giambattista Embriaco. In watchmaking, the name of Bedetti is closely linked to that of Rolex, with which it boasts a long and constructive collaboration.
Bedetti is also a historic multi-brand dealer able to make available and satisfy every request of its customers with important brands such as Cartier, Panerai, Hublot, IWC, Tudor, and many others, including the latest collaborations with Chaumet and Grand Seiko. Bedetti also signs his own line of watches called the Bernini Watch Collection, conceived and produced entirely in-house. After that it is also among the main players in the Second Wrist panorama which, thanks to an important network, buys, sells and evaluates fine watches to guarantee the highest quality and be a point of reference for those who love or simply own important objects and worth.
Inside the shop in Piazza San Silvestro, collectors and aficionados can count on a qualified watchmaking laboratory, where complete technical assistance is provided, including periodic overhauls, repairs, water resistance checks and so on.
For over forty years Bedetti has also been synonymous with quality and guarantee in the field of diamonds and other precious stones, carefully selected and then transformed, thanks to the creativity of the designers and the skill of the craftsmen of their own goldsmith’s workshop, into exclusive jewels.
Always a meeting point between history and culture – the shop also experienced a significant cinematic moment in 1959, when a scene from the film Il Mattatore by Dino Risi was filmed there, with Vittorio Gassman and Peppino De Filippo – Bedetti periodically organizes events aimed at in-depth study of issues related to the world of watchmaking and jewelry, with the belief that knowledge is the best way to choose and appreciate a precious object.
1867
The Pincio water clock
The name of Antonio Bedetti is already known to the Romans because it is linked to one of the monumental clocks most loved by the city public: the Pincio water clock, designed in 1867 by the Dominican father Giambattista Embriaco, for the construction of which he had provided his precious collaboration.
1882
The Beginning
It was 1882 when Antonio Bedetti, a cultured and enterprising man, former orchestra conductor at Santa Cecilia, following his distribution throughout Italy of the most prestigious brands of Swiss watchmaking of the time, decided to open a watch shop to the public. He does it together with his partner Cavalier Carlo Bandiera, in front of the Teatro di Marcello, formerly via Tor de Specchi.
1934
Bedetti and Rolex
The collaboration with Rolex begins, the prestigious Swiss watch brand, synonymous with quality and precision, which in those years rose to the “news” among watch enthusiasts for two absolutely extraordinary inventions:
the patent for the Oyster case (1926), which tackles the problem of waterproofing watches in an innovative and definitive way, and the development of the first “Perpetual” models, equipped with an automatic rotor winding mechanism (1931).
1955
San Silvestro square
After more than seventy years of activity, on the initiative of Marcello, Antonio’s son, the Bedetti jewelry shop opens in Piazza San Silvestro, which has since then been the exclusive headquarters of the company.
In the historic photo, the important inauguration with the insignia of the brands traded at the time.
1955
1959
"Il Mattatore" and the link with cinema
The new New Year’s Eve location soon became the reference point for the most sophisticated clientele, so much so that it was immortalized in the film: “Il Mattatore” by Dino Risi with Vittorio Gassman and Peppino de Filippo in a scene that became a cult in 1959. In the photo Marcello Bedetti senior with his friend Vittorio Gassman.
1968
The Sixties
The link with cinema was not an isolated episode. In the glittering Rome of the sweet life, at Bedetti it can happen that you meet special clients, such as Audrey Hepburn and Luchino Visconti.
The store experienced a period of growth and transformation, which in 1968 took the form of an important renovation by the architect Rebecchini, author of the famous horseshoe-shaped counter that characterized the sales room until 2020, as well as the column satin steel that houses the futuristic lift to reach the upper floors. A shop already projected to the future.
1970 - 1980
Jewelry and Gold
The organization of the space on the upper floors – where the watchmaking laboratory is already present – responds to a new project that bears the signature and innovative energy of Massimo Bedetti. Graduated in economics and first Italian in history to graduate from the Gemological Institute of America in Los Angeles.
Co-founder of the Italian Gemological Institute, he went to Antwerp to choose the purest diamonds, Thailand and Colombia for colored stones. The gemological expertise and his great passion for precious stones now allow him to enter the field of diamonds and other gems with authority by signing his line of high jewelry.
1988
Bedetti and De Beers
In the late 1980s, the collaboration between the Bedetti company and De Beers, the leading authority in the world of Diamonds, grew.
In the November 1988 photo a special event is held at the Grand Hotel in Rome with the presentation of High Jewelry creations with rare and exclusive diamonds.
1999 - 2005
The company and the Future
In the years that mark the transition from the second to the third millennium Massimo Bedetti is joined by his sons Marcello junior and Stefano.
Today they have the task of safeguarding a centuries-old tradition, making use of the historical values that have already guided previous generations; at the same time, their goal is to lead the company towards new goals, overcoming the challenges imposed by an increasingly complex and international market through new skills and innovative corporate marketing and communication tools.
2005
The link with the world of entertainment
On the fiftieth anniversary of the store’s inauguration, a great event is organized in collaboration with all the most important watchmaking houses, starting with Rolex and Vacheron et Constantin, with the participation of various celebrities in the entertainment field, including Alessandro Gassman, to keep the bond with cinema and the family of famous Italian actors.
2006
Rolex Corner
The first Rolex Corner made in Italy was inaugurated in the shop.
An environment strongly characterized and entirely designed by the architects of the Geneva house which is inaugurated with a large exhibition of current and historical models.
2011
Rolex GMT - History
In the autumn of 2011, a historical Rolex GMT exhibition was held in the shop – The History of which the fiftieth anniversary occurs.
The exhibition is the final stage of a traveling roadshow which showed the evolution of the GMT from 1955 to today in all its variants.
2012
Bedetti Hublot-Ferrari event
For the simultaneous launch of the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and the Hublot Big Bang Ferrari watch, a special event was organized in Piazza San Silvestro, in front of the Bedetti store, setting up a tensile structure for the occasion used as a living room with interactive showcases and a video mapping show on palaces.
2020
The restyling of the Boutique
In 2020, the fourth generation of Bedetti, represented by Stefano and Marcello, completely renovated the boutique. An important step, based on a project by the architect Gianni Ascarelli which made it possible to preserve the original structure, designed in 1968, making it modern and projected towards the future. For the occasion, a new exclusive Rolex space was created and one dedicated to the watchmaking of the Maison Cartier as well as the personalization of the spaces in the multi-brand area and the creation of a lounge area on the upper floor.
