Living and working in Florence means, above all, breathing in its history, letting oneself be guided by an artistic memory which has been handed down through the centuries. It was here, back in 1952 that Mario Chiarugi set up his business enterprise, seeking to express in the shapes and materials of his products the artistic heritage of the workshops of the Florentine master craftsmen.
Mario's challenge was to present the pepper mill - up until then considered an article of everyday use - as an object of value and prestige in itself. His efforts contributed to spread throughout the world the idea of the product "Made in Italy", Tuscany, Florence, which with the passage of time was to become the most sought-after aspect of the Italian heritage abroad.
The success of the Chiarugi pepper mill, which is still made entirely on the premises of the Florentine company, is based on an original mechanism which actually cuts the peppercorns rather than crushing them. Genius and passion are qualities upon which the Chiarugi trademark has always relied; exploiting noble materials and expert design it has succeeded in expressing the passage of time through an object which remains timeless.
The Chiarugi pepper mill is not simply a kitchen utensil, but an object you will be proud to possess, unique in terms of both quality and materials. Wood is the traditional protagonist of the company's collections. European Beech, Cherry, African Walnut, Oak, Rosewood and the rarer Olive are used, with a waxed or shiny surface finish to enhance the object and protect it against wear.
Other materials include acrylic, crystal and silver-plate, interrelated by a sophisticated design concept. Composed of a number of elements, the system for pepper grinding is produced through a series of delicate and complex procedures. More specifically the mill itself, as a result of hardening and casehardening procedures and the exclusive internal form, guarantees the desired type of grind and the correct amount of pepper.
Effectively it operates on a simple "self-centring" mechanism, which avoids blockage of breakage, and enables the grind to be adjusted from coarse to fine. Pepper and salt all have specific characteristics which require a different type of grinding mechanisms : Pepper mills are built with steel mechanism, while salt calls for a ceramic mill.
When Chiarugi creates a new object he always bears two criteria in mind: the design and the functionality in everyday use. All the collections are coherently characterised by the materials used and by the lines which define the shape. Created to enhance the table, the CLASSIC ranges are designed to harmonise with silver, porcelain and crystal, and the GOURMET ranges to complement the practicality and colours of more modern trends.
