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Farewell to a brilliant craftsman and our friend, Giancarlo Pedretti
We received some very sad news about the recent passing of world renowned Master Engraver, Giancarlo Pedretti. He was a cherished friend of Cole Gunsmithing and his studio has commissioned the hand- engraved actions featured on our Cole Custom Shotguns for more than a decade. Giancarlo was born in Gardone, Italy in 1947 and passed away unexpectedly in late September of this year. Giancarlo spent his entire working life perfecting his craft, engraving for Beretta and Abbiatico and Salvinelli, Piotti, Luciano Bosis and many other of the world's finest gun- makers. He was the first Italian engraver to be invited to work with British Gunmaker, Purdey. A true gentleman and one of the world's great artisans, Giancarlo learned his trade from the best and worked tirelessly for many years to produce the very best artwork on the very best guns. Well- known for the highly detailed Bulino engraving and intricate dog and game scenes, many of which appear as crisp and multidimensional a photograph. Giancarlo's father and uncles, "The Pedretti Brothers" were instrumental employees for Beretta, building the original SO series guns still coveted today! In the early 1960s the Pedretti Bros were the leading gunmakers in what was called Beretta's ' Cappa Due' or K2 department, responsible for building only the finest Beretta Sporting Arms, those suitable for kings, presidents and celebrities such as Ernest Hemingway. Here worked a trio of Master Engravers second to none-- Tononcelli, Bregoli and Baglioni. Giancarlo worked a Summer with Tononcelli as a young boy and impressed the elders with his ability, he was offered an apprenticeship, at that time an exceptional achievement and honor. These are the humble beginnings and the rest, as they say is history and more than this newsletter can do justice; if you would like to learn more, contact us to discuss the beautiful hardcover book written by our friends Stephen and Elena Micheli- Lamboy. It is filled with beautiful photos and historical background on this talented family. We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Giancarlo and will continue to work with his son Stefano, also a master craftsman with a passion for the arts.
Here, we share some photos of our last visit to Studio Pedretti and some of our Cole Custom engraved actions engraved there, one beauty by Giancarlo himself.
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