Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) was born in Lucca, Italy. As a young man, he was inspired to become an opera composer after seeing a performance of Verdi's Aida. He studied at the Milan Conservatory and in 1882, he wrote a one-act opera, Le Villi that caught the attention of Giulio Ricordi, who commissioned a second opera, Edgar (1889). The collection is hand turned from a solid bar of a special ruby-red resin. On the top of the cap it offers a medal in sterling silver featuring Puccini's bust.