Rondo Cutlery: Brushed Steel

“Almost everyone was involved in making forks” in the northern Portugal village of São Martinho de Sande a century ago, says Cutipol’s David Ribeiro explaining the origins of his family’s artisanal cutlery brand. Streams and rivers in the region powered the local mills for polishing and David’s grandfather found work in the burgeoning trade as a garfeiro, shaping metal cutlery by hand. “The angle of the fork was achieved by the use of a hammer,” David says.

From those humble beginnings, Cutipol was founded in 1964 by his father and today David, who handles PR duties, runs the company with his third-generation siblings José Joaquim, who heads design, and Ana Ribeiro, who focuses on retail development. They all started out as teenagers who spent summers working in the factory to earn pocket money and later oversaw the introduction of computer-aided technology. But even with 21st Century robotics at work, they still adhere to the family legacy of fine meticulous craftsmanship.