BVLGARI – 135 YEARS OF DOLCE VITA
The first associations you should have with the brand are: luxury, Italian chic, and impressive sapphires you can’t get your eyes off. However, it is more than just luxurious bling. Over the 135 years of the brand, Bulgari history has intertwined with love stories that the entire world would follow, the most famous Hollywood names, or events straight out of history books. And there could easily be a few movies made with all the anecdotes that involve the iconic Italian brand. Today, we reveal a part of that jewelry tale for you and encourage you to explore it further.
Unifying Greek Craftsmanship and Italian Style
It all began in a Greek village in the Pindos Mountains, a region famous for craftsmen skilled at silver processing. One of them, Sotirio Voulgaris, was not only skilled and talented, but he also had a flair for business. He is said to have had less than a dollar to his name when he immigrated to Italy in 1880, and sold his first silver earrings at the stand of a sponge vender he had befriended. Yet as early as 1884, Sotirio opened his first store in Rome, naming it the Old Curiosity Shop after the novel by Charles Dickens. As the business flourished and the flagship ventured to the prestigious Via Dei Condotti, the entrepreneurial goldsmith changed the name of the store by simplifying his name: from the Greek Voulgaris (Βούλγαρης) to Bulgari, written usually with a ‘v’ in compliance with the classic Latin alphabet.
Dolce Vita
It wasn’t just the name, but also the designs the goldsmith used to emphasize his fascination with the history of Rome. As well, despite his Greek origin, he zoomed in on the Italian heritage of the brand. Bulgari jewelry equals a unique style, combining Byzantine architecture inspirations, Greek and Roman classicism, and Italian Renaissance. To this day, Serpenti, inspired by a mythological snake, is one of the brand’s most distinctive motifs, appearing in watches, bracelets and pendants since 1940. Andy Warhol once said that visiting a Bulgari store is like visiting the best art gallery, and it’s hard to disagree with him. The Italian brand’s designs represent a perfect balance between the classic and the modern. Bulgari-framed multi-colored sapphires, emeralds, diamonds and rubies offer an exquisite timelessness and elegance in the most luxurious of ways.
Reaching for the Stars
No wonder that the impressive designs stole the hearts of the brightest Hollywood stars. Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlena Dietrich, Clark Gable, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Nicole Kidman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Charlize Theron and Angelina Jolie are just a few of the enthusiasts. Aristocracy has appreciated the classical and uncompromised beauty of Bulgari as eagerly as celebrities. The Countess Dorothy di Frasso, Infanta Beatriz of Spain, and Marie José, Princess of Belgium were regular visitors to Bulgari stores. Apparently, it was Bulgari trinkets that helped Richard Burton capture Elizabeth Taylor’s heart. And interestingly, the famous jewels saved the life of Vittorio Cini, count of Monselice, as they were the ransom that released the aristocrat from a Nazi prison.
Today Bulgari, as part of the LVMH group, owns dozens of stores around the world, selling not just jewelry, but also distinctive watches, perfumes, leather handbags and other accessories. You can also visit one of the luxury Bulgari hotels in Dubai, Tokyo, Milan, or Shanghai. One thing never changes. Every time you come across the Bulgari brand, it offers you a peek into a world of luxury and of classic, universal beauty.
photos: bvlgari.com
