Carrera Y Carrera
Founded by Francesc d'Assis Carreras i Mata; Carerra Y Carrera is one of the oldest jewelry stores in Spain. They started in Barcelona near 1785 where he moved from his hometown of Mataró in 1766. He was succeeded by his son Francesco Carreras i Duran who in 1845 was appointed jeweler and silversmith to Queen Isabel II. The firm took part in the 1855 Exposition Universelle in Paris. Francesc’s four sons took over as the third generation of jewelers and under their guidance the workshops produced a large volume of work during the 1860s and 1870s. In 1880, as the fourth generation joined they opened a second premises on Carrer de Ferran VII to add to the one on 7-9 Carrer de l’Argenteria. At the turn of the 20th century they began producing pieces in the Art Nouveau style, referred to in Spain as ‘Modernisme’ and for which Barcelona was an artistic center. At the same time another of Spain’s historic and famous jeweler families, Masriera, was creating jewelry in this style. In 1915 the decision was made to merge the two companies by Joaquin Carreras i Nolla (fifth generation of Carreras) and the brothers Lluis, Josep and Ricard Masriera. The newly formed company was called Masriera Hermanos y JoaquÍn Carreras and they opened a large store at number 26, Passeig de Gràcia. Their jewelry had become far more geometric and ‘cubist’ over the years with what we would now refer to as an Art Deco style. They furthered on their success in Paris at the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona where they presented another wonderful display of pieces including bracelets and brooches, rings and earrings and in the center a stunning diamond and platinum diadem from which a single diamond hung down, suspended over the forehead. Then in the 1930’s Lluis Masriera began to spend more time to the theatre and slowly the firm began to falter. In 1969 the firm of Bagués bought a 50% share of the company, and injected new life. Then in 1985 Bagues acquired the remainder of the company and named it Bagués Masriera.
