After the exhibition 125 Years of Italian Magnificence in 2010, Bulgari returns to the Grand Palais, in Paris (France), from 14 to 23 September 2012 for the Biennale des Antiquaires. The celebrated fair devoted to art in its infinite forms will present over 100 new creations, sublime expressions of the house’s unmistakable feeling for beauty, of the sense of volume and passion for colour that make it most famous and prestigious Italian jeweller in the world.
|
The inspiration for the imagery of Bulgari’s latest creations comes from Cleopatra, a woman who became a myth because of her unique gifts of audacity and charisma. For instance the Serpenti necklace, with emeralds, turquoise and diamonds, created specially for the Biennale des Antiquaires, is intended as a tribute to a legendary figure, the queen of queens, capable of conveying an evocative combination of power, charm and sensuality..
Inimitable model of beauty and talent and one of the best-loved film stars of the 20th century, Elizabeth Taylor had been a great connoisseur of Bulgari’s creations of fine jewellery since the 1960s, becoming, at the same time, one of their most incisive sources of inspiration. A homage to this icon of style with decided tastes is paid by some of the pieces presented on the occasion of the Biennale des Antiquaires where, like the jewellery in the celebrated Taylor collection (acquired by Bulgari at the auction held by Christie’s in December 2011), the out-and-out protagonists are emeralds of forms and hues of extraordinary rarity.
|
Another inspiring motif of the Bulgari one-off pieces on show in Paris is one of the most perfect and surprising phenomena in nature: the flower. Completely new brooches, earrings or rings with petals of different forms alternate oval sapphires of the most variegated shades with petals made of coral, mother of pearl or turquoise, spaced out and at times surrounded by pavé diamonds.
The distinctive and immediately recognizable trait of the Italian house’s style consists in the use of coloured gemstones. Bulgari’s jewellery is characterized, in fact, by its unprecedented and surprising combinations of coloured precious and semiprecious stones. The use of semiprecious stones like tourmalines, amethysts, citrines, spinels, corals, pearls and garnets, often matched with rubies, emeralds and sapphires of exceptional value, has allowed Bulgari to draw on a much broader range of colours than normal, including new and unusual tones of violet, rose, deep red, green, orange and yellow. The result is an almost infinite and surprising variety of chromatic combinations, from the most vivid and contrasting to the most delicate and soft.
