CRAFTS: MIMIT CLARIFIES THE RULES, THE ENTIRE GOLDSMITH-JEWELLERY SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTED. OVER 12,000 ITALIAN JEWELLERY STORES SAFEGUARDED AND THE IGP PATH FOR TORRE DEL GRECO CORAL AND CAMEO STRENGTHENED
The Ministry’s FAQs confirm the possibility of enhancing craft productions, handwork and Italian manufacturing traditions. The full validity of future craft and industrial IGPs is recognized.
Federpreziosi Confcommercio, Assocoral and the Consorzio Corallo e Cammeo Torrese express satisfaction with the clarifications published by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy on the application of Article 16 of Law No. 34/2026 on the reform of crafts.
The FAQs issued by MIMIT provide an interpretative framework that protects craft businesses without penalizing the rest of the production and distribution chain, offering legal certainty to thousands of operators in the Italian goldsmith-jewellery sector, a supply chain that includes manufacturing firms, specialized workshops, distributors and over 12,000 jewellery stores across the country.
Among the most relevant clarifications is the recognition of the full validity of the special regimes provided for craft and industrial products protected by a Protected Geographical Indication under Regulation (EU) 2023/2411. The Ministry specified that the new rules do not affect the special regimes applicable to products protected by non-agricultural IGPs, even where they are made by companies not registered in the Register of craft enterprises, provided they comply with the production specification and the applicable special legislation.
The FAQs also clarify that non-craft companies, including jewellery stores, may continue to market and promote products made by craft enterprises, properly highlighting their origin, quality and production features. It is also confirmed that companies not registered in the craft register may use, if truthful and not misleading, expressions such as “handmade”, “made with traditional techniques”, “made to measure”, “tailor-made”, “made with specialized handwork” or similar wording suitable to describe the product’s actual characteristics.
“The Ministry’s FAQs clarify a fundamental principle: protecting the craft enterprise cannot turn into a limit on enhancing Italian craft productions,” says Stefano Andreis, President of Federpreziosi Confcommercio. “For the over 12,000 Italian jewellery stores and for the entire goldsmith-jewellery supply chain, this is an important clarification because it allows us to continue promoting, transparently and correctly, the value of craft workmanship, traditional productions and Made in Italy excellence. A common-sense principle is affirmed: we must distinguish the company’s legal status from the product’s objective characteristics. The FAQs provide greater certainty for operators, strengthen consumer protection and recognize the role that specialized retail plays in spreading Italy’s manufacturing culture. Jewellery stores are not only points of sale, but places where Italian know-how is told, enhanced and conveyed to the market. We hope this important clarification will also be the starting point for a broader reflection on the evolution of craft legislation, so that it can take account of the profound changes that have occurred in production and distribution models over recent decades.”
Particularly significant is the reference in the FAQs to Torre del Greco Coral and Cameo, expressly cited among the examples of productions affected by the new European system of Protected Geographical Indications for craft and industrial products.
It is one of the most representative excellences of Italy’s manufacturing Made in Italy, the expression of a historic district that brings together hundreds of companies and thousands of workers specialized in the artistic processing of coral, cameo and jewellery, recognized and appreciated on international markets.
“The reference to Torre del Greco Coral and Cameo contained in the Ministry’s FAQs is certainly an important recognition for the Protected Geographical Indication path we are pursuing, but the value of the clarification goes well beyond our district and concerns the entire system of Italian craft productions involved in the recognition, including Murano glass or Burano lace,” says Vincenzo Aucella, President of Assocoral and of the Consorzio Corallo e Cammeo di Torre del Greco and Deputy Vice President of Federpreziosi Confcommercio.
“The FAQs in fact state a fundamental principle: protecting the craft enterprise cannot translate into exclusivity over the use and enhancement of the concept of craftsmanship when it is an objective feature of the product. The value of craftsmanship is not a bureaucratic definition, but a heritage of skills, manual ability, production culture and know-how that represents one of the most authentic expressions of Made in Italy. It is a principle of balance and common sense that protects the consumer and, at the same time, allows companies to truthfully tell the value of their productions.
For Torre del Greco Coral and Cameo this principle takes on an even deeper meaning. The productions seeking IGP recognition are in fact based on specifications that identify processes characterized by a high manual content, specialist skills, supply-chain traceability and a close connection with the territory. It is precisely these elements, and not only the company’s legal qualification, that determine the uniqueness and recognizability of an excellence production.
The Ministry’s clarification also confirms full consistency between the craft reform and the new European system of Geographical Indications for craft and industrial products. A particularly important step because craft IGPs can become for Made in Italy what PDOs and PGIs have represented for agri-food: a tool capable of strengthening companies’ competitiveness, increasing the international reputation of Italian productions and offering consumers greater guarantees of authenticity, quality and traceability.
In a global market increasingly oriented toward origin, quality and product identity, recognizing the value of craft workmanship and the link with the territory represents a strategic lever for the future of our companies. For this reason, the clarification provided by MIMIT is an important signal not only for Torre del Greco, but for all Italian production districts that base their competitiveness on skills, manufacturing tradition and human capital that make Made in Italy unique in the world”
The clarification provided by MIMIT, also the result of direct discussions with the Ministry on Via Veneto and with government representatives, represents an important starting point for the future as well. Reflection remains open on the need to further adapt craft rules to the evolution of production and distribution models, enhancing those companies that, while carrying out manufacturing activities with a high professional, technical and creative content, cannot access registration in the Register of craft enterprises for reasons linked to the corporate form or the organization of the activity.
The shared goal remains to strengthen the competitiveness of a supply chain that represents one of the most qualified expressions of Made in Italy and that continues to generate jobs, skills and economic value in local areas, contributing to the spread worldwide of Italian manufacturing excellence.
17 June 2026
