Gold processing in Valenza can be traced back to the initiative of Vincenzo Morosetti, who in 1845 opened a workshop calling two skilled workers from Alessandria to help him: Francesco Zacchetti and Carlo Bigatti. In fact, statistics from a few years ago already recorded the presence of two goldsmiths, two watchmakers and two sellers of gold objects in Valenza. Presumably these were modest businesses, both in terms of size and quality, whose product, often costume jewellery, was intended for local customers. Morosetti, with the strength of his experience, apparently acquired through emigration, started a production of a certain value using more refined production techniques. Bigatti and Zacchetti subsequently left the workshop and started their own businesses. Carlo Bigatti's firm set up production no longer on artisanal criteria, but with an initial form of division of labour.

The qualifications of his workers, as recorded by a census, were: engravers, goldsmiths, enamellers, cleaners. In 1850 the goldsmith workshops present in Valenza were three, in 1872 two more had been added and, overall, they employed 110 workers. The following year, a well-travelled Valencian, Vincenzo Melchiorre, returned to his native city and opened a goldsmith's workshop, bringing with him the fruits of the technical experience and taste he had acquired first in Turin at the Twerembold atelier, then in Paris during the Second Empire, then the European temple of fashion and luxury, at Vaubourzeix Boucheron, and then again in the new Italian capitals, in Florence at Marchesini and in Rome.

Melchiorre's production was of a higher quality level than the average in Valencia, using precious stones artistically set in jewels. In 1911 Melchiorre & C. employed 86 workers. Its example was followed by other companies: Raselli Nicola (1875), Cunioli and Repossi (1880), Marchese and Gaudino (1882). The birth and growth process of what would become the gold district was therefore achieved thanks to knowledge acquired abroad and by imitation by qualified workers, through a process of qualitative improvement. At the beginning of the new century, in 1902, a Cooperative of Producers of Gold Products was founded, a public limited company with unlimited capital, whose members were mostly specialized workers and whose production, on the eve of the First World War, stood at a value of 220,000 lire.

At that time, there were at least 44 goldsmith companies in Valenza, of which 8 employed more than 25 workers. The raw material, gold, was purchased mainly on the Milanese market, while the precious stones came not only from Milan, but also from Paris, Amsterdam and Antwerp. As for machinery, since 1840 the Mino GB company had been present in Alessandria, a well-known goldsmith machinery factory, which served the Valenza producers. Around 1910, the production of chains began in Valenza, which allowed for greater mechanization, even though goldsmith work remained largely manual labor. Male labor was predominant over female labor.

Women were engaged in unskilled work, such as cleaning gold objects, which required patience but not particular skill and preparation. Sales were initially directed to the local market, then gradually spread nationwide after the Unification, while the first exports date back to the late nineteenth century and were directed towards South America. Sales were made thanks to a traveler, often the owner of the workshop himself, who visited customers at home. A real boom in production occurred in the years following the end of the Second World War. Subsequently, the sector was strongly affected by the general trend of the economy. This trend, moreover, was present from the beginning: since these are luxury and luxury goods, the contractions in sales are very evident in periods of negative economic conditions. The district, as recognized by the Piedmont Region, includes eight municipalities, three of which are in Lombardy and were born by “budding”.

Small and medium-sized businesses still prevail, often working on a sub-contract basis. The supply chain is complete and includes jewellery, precious stone processing, costume jewellery. In 2007, the district's production covered 13.8% of Italian exports in the sector, which were however decreasing compared to previous years due to foreign competition.

The global jewelry market has seen, in recent decades, the advance of brands of great international fame and the entry of new producers such as India, China and Turkey. All this has created marketing problems for small and medium-sized businesses in Valenza that have created the DiValenza brand for high-end gold products.