Bulgari
61139 - Bulgari Gold Tubogas Watch
Sortirios Bulgari, who was born in 1857, moved with his father in 1877, to the Greek island of Corfu where they set up a successful silver workshop. They practiced silversmithing, which had been passed down through their family since Byzantine times. In 1880, Sortirios left Greece, sailing to Italy with an ambitious friend, Demetrios Kremos. Initially, the two opened a store in Naples. After robbers cleaned out their inventory in 1881, they moved to Rome. In 1884, Bulgari ended the partnership and opened his own store at 85 Via Sistina in Rome. There he sold silver objects, antiques, and archaeological-revival jewelry, which was still popular in Rome at the time. Sortirios sons are credited with creating the highly distinctive "Bvlgari" style, inspired by Greek and Roman classicism and the Italian Renaissance. Upon Sortirios' death in 1932, these sons, Giorgio and Costantino took over the business.
Giorgio and Constantino, changed Bulgari’s stylistic direction. From the 1920s until the 1960s, Bulgari produced jewelry in line with current French fashions. Styles meandered from Edwardian to Art Deco, Retro and Modern. Archaeological jewelry was no longer produced. Giorgio managed the business and kept a watchful eye over its designs. Constantino studied ancient silversmithing techniques, researching and writing about the history of silver production in Italy.
Bulgari began to attract an international following during the 1960s. Sophia Loren was photographed wearing an important Bulgari diamond necklace at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival. Gina Lollobrigida wore the firm’s emerald and diamond jewelry at the premiere of The Sound of Music. When she was filming Cleopatra outside Rome in 1962, Elizabeth Taylor found Bulgari impossible to resist.
As the third generation of Bulgari children entered the business (Giorgio’s sons, Paolo and Nicola, and Constantino’s daughters, Anna and Marina), the firm’s ambitions changed yet again. No longer following French styles, Bulgari aimed to create its own adventurous style. In 1976, when Marina left, the family hired former Tiffany & Co. designer Donald Claflin to aid in this enterprise. By the 1980’s, success was theirs. Andy Warhol is quoted as saying, “I think your jewelry is the 1980s,” … “Everybody’s trying to copy this look.”
The firm produced massive colored-stone pieces inspired by Indian, Iranian, and Egyptian sources. Featuring bubbly, large, cabochon-cut gemstones, the pieces flaunted bright, color combinations. It was this explosion of color that defined Bulgari from 1955-1995. These iconic designs are still desirable today, and remain a guiding principle for Bulgari’s distinctive, contemporary designs.
901062 - Bulgari Gold Sapphire Diamond Ring |
53307 - Circa 2000 "Bulgari" Gold Sapphire Diamond Earrings |
Bulgari’s modular jewels were also bold and bright. The basic idea was to use striking, geometric shapes to form a distinct, repetitive pattern. The first in the series, “Parentesi”, featured stylized parenthesis and is probably the most copied of Bulgari's Designs. In the 1980s there was an appetite for easy-to-wear jewelry that was stylish and affordable. The Parentesi collection — defined as ‘brackets’ or ‘parenthesis’ — met and exceeded all expectations. It was bold, distinctive, and could be as formal or informal as required. The first Bulgari Parentesi jewelry was created in 1982.
43954 - Bulgari Gold Diamond Choker Necklace
The idea of mounting coins in jewelry is not new — there are plenty of examples from ancient Rome. During the 1980s, Bulgari became famous for its coin jewelry. The ‘Moneta’ jewelry designs of coin-set necklaces, bracelets and earrings is instantly recognizable. These pieces paid homage to the firm’s beginnings, when it was creating archaeological jewelry, and also its Italian and Greek heritage. Large, interesting, and often very old coins were set in bezels and attached to a curb-link chain. Coin jewelry is now among the firm’s trademarks, and remains one of Bulgari’s most enduring and popular lines.
40213 - Bulgari Roman Coin Gold Curb Link Necklace
In some cultures the serpent / snake was a fertility symbol, and in others it represented strength, eternity and seductiveness. In ancient Crete, snakes were worshiped as guardians of birth and regeneration because of the way they shed their skin. In the 1960s, Bulgari introduced the “Tubogas” line. The secret to this jewelry’s popularity, lay in the white gold or steel spring within the metal bands of the “Tubogas” coil. This gave the Bulgari Serpenti bracelet and watch tremendous flexibility. The first models produced in the 1960s were nearly all made in yellow gold with diamond-set heads and tails. The Bulgari Snake bracelet worn by Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra consists of a pavé-set diamond head with emerald eyes, which set the tone for numerous versions that were made in the years that followed. The colorful enamel examples are meticulously crafted, with scales handmade from sheets of gold before being attached to each other at the core. Early examples only wrap around the arm once or twice, but in later examples three or four coils are normal. The Bulgari serpent tradition continues today.
As the fourth generation of Bulgari children has been brought into the fold, Bulgari’s success has continued. In the early 1990’s, the firm introduced the Chandra collection to great acclaim. Chandra pieces feature molded, white porcelain beads combined with gold and precious stones. During the 1990’s, the firm also expanded its selection to watches. With locations all over the globe, Bulgari’s jewelry remains distinctive and fashionable, flaunted by royalty and stars of the first order. In 2011, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (LVMH) acquired the family-controlled Bulgari company for an incredible $6 billion USD, the highest amount LVMH had previously ever offered for any other company. LVMH outbid the Swiss luxury goods holding company Richemont and French luxury goods holding company PPR (now Kering).
45039 - Bulgari Gold Diamond Pearl Necklace
Sources:https://www.bulgari.com/en-us/the-maison/about-bvlgari/bvlgari-history.html
https://theeyeofjewelry.com/bvlgari/bvlgari-news/bvlgari-bulgari-legendary-italian-story/
https://www.freemansauction.com/news/history-house-bulgari