Bucci is the 4th generation of jewellers. In 1885, her great-grandfather, Ferdinando Bucci, opened a workshop in Florence, Italy, specialising in the sale and repair of gentlemen's pocket watches. He eventually began to make bespoke gold chains to accessorize his clients' timepieces, and from there he moved into the production of fine jewellery. His son, Fosco, took over the business in 1920, by which point they had gained success across Italy, and moved the showroom to Piazza Santo Stefano, next to Florence's Ponte Vecchio, the hub of artisans and goldsmiths. After the Second World War, her father grew the business internationally, particularly in the US and Japan, whilst continuing to anchor the manufacture of the jewellery in the family's Florentine workshops. Bucci took over, and is now the creative director, having studied at FIT. When she returned to Florence upon her graduation, she worked alongside local goldsmiths encouraging them to push the boundaries of their traditional practices to create her first collections, ‘Lucky’ and then ‘Woven’, which saw her reinvent centuries-old Florentine textile looms to weave gold and silk threads, becoming two of her trademark collections; the third being her ‘Florentine Finish’ as seen on Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Frosted Gold watches. A selection of her designs are in the permanent jewellery collection of the Palazzo Pitti museum in Florence. In 2007 she established her London flagship store, and since then has aligned with retailers such as Harrods, Bergdorf Goodman, and Luisa Via Roma. In 2003 the cover of UK Vogue featured Salma Hayek wearing a Bucci necklace, which led to Bucci develop her first non-US retailer; London's multi-brand store Browns. Carolina Bucci jewellery is available in Harrods, Bergdorf Goodman, Hirsliefers, Luisa Via Roma and other stores, as well as Net A Porter and their on line store Carolinabucci.com. Bucci opened her first flagship store in Belgravia, London, in 2007, and a second in Porto Montenegro in 2011. In 2005 Sarah Jessica Parker wore a Carolina Bucci Lucky bracelet throughout the final series of 'Sex and the City' and marked the finale by gifting a Lucky bracelet to each member of the cast and crew. In 2010 Bucci launched '1885' a heritage inspired collection to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Carolina's great grandfather founding the company. In 2013, a 10th Anniversary edition of the Lucy Bracelet was launched. In 2014 she launched the ‘Sprezzatura’ Lucky bracelet with the brand signature Florentine Finish Bee charm. In 2016 she announced a collaboration with Audemars Piguet, to redesign their Royal Oak watch with her Florentine finish to celebrate the watch's 40th anniversary. In 2018 her London flagship store relocated to 22 Motcomb Street, London. 2018 also saw the launch of the FORTE beads collection. A collection based around a rainbow of precious hard stone beads, 18k Florentine Finish beads and Letters, named after the Italian sea side town of Forte Dei Marmi. In 2018 Carolina Bucci was won the award for the Gold category of the Couture Show Design Awards for her rainbow gold and silk woven scarf. For her second collaboration with Audemars Piguet, Bucci once again applied her signature Florentine Finish to the Limited Edition Royal Oak, this time in 18k yellow gold, alongside a silver toned mirror dial, in place of the traditional Tapisserie. In 2019 Bucci released a series of hand blown glasses, made in collaboration with the Murano glass maker Laguna B, as well as hand carved Carrara marble spheres and the application of her Florentine Finish to homeware.
