The Hand & Hammer brand of silver jewelry began in 1979 in Woodbridge, Virginia. Its founders were second- and third-generation jewelers William Lawrence DeMatteo, his son Chip DeMatteo (b. 1949), and Philip Thorpo.

However, the brand’s roots go back to 1921, when William DeMatteo’s father, Gaetano Di Matteo, founded his jewelry workshop in New York City.

Gaetano Di Matteo (1895-1981)

Born in Italy to a fisherman’s family, Gaetano Di Matteo came to the United States with his parents at the age of ten. Even before naturalization in 1911, he changed his name to the American style, becoming William G. DeMatteo. At the age of 14, William DeMatteo found work as a janitor at the factory of the famous jewelry firm Reed & Barton. He soon became an apprentice, and worked at the factory for about six years.

From 1916 to 1920, he worked for the New Art Plating Company, producing silverware. Having saved up his initial capital, he opened his own silversmithing shop in 1921. Five years later, de Matteo moved to Bergenfield, New Jersey, where he built a large home and shop at 53 Harcourt Avenue. For forty years, he worked on private commissions and made jewelry and flatware for prominent New York jewelers.

For at least a decade, Matteo worked with the Georg Jensen branch in New York. It was during this period in the 1940s that his son William worked alongside his father, learning the necessary skills as a jeweler. De Matteo began studying sculpture and fine art at Columbia University in 1941. However, in late 1942, nineteen-year-old William enlisted in the Navy.

William Lawrence DeMatteo (1923–1988)

After World War II, Bill de Matteo, as he was commonly known, continued to assist his father. In 1946, he married artist Jane Walpole. They had four children – three daughters and a son, Chip de Matteo (born 1949). De Matteo had to interrupt his work for his father when he was called to active duty during the Korean War.

Demobilized in 1953, Bill de Matteo joined Colonial Williamsburg as a silversmith. In the shop of James Geddie, he trained silversmiths and also made copies of 18th-century silverware.

In May 1960, Jewelers’ Circular published an article about Bill DeMatteo, an old-fashioned jeweler who was unwilling to move with the times. He owned the “Golden Ball Sign” in Williamsburg, an authentic, reconstructed 18th-century silversmith shop.

Using antique tools and archaic methods, Bill handcrafted beautiful silverware for celebrities. His silver pieces included a hand-forged town crier’s bell for Sir Winston Churchill. Also, replicas of George Washington’s riding crops for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

William Gaetano Dematteo worked with his son from time to time until his retirement in 1979. That same year, Bill de Matteo and his son Chip deMatteo founded Hand & Hammer Silversmiths in Woodbridge, Virginia.

Hand & Hammer Vintage Sterling Silver Jewelry

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