ome birthdays are celebrated in style. For its 140th anniversary, Bvlgari has created the largest collection in its history, which the house unveiled in May at the Terme di Diocleziano baths in Rome. Its name, Aeterna, is the Latin word for eternity and, if diamonds are indeed forever, the star of the collection - the Serpenti Aeterna necklace – is adorned with seven diamonds totalling 140 carats, all cut from a single rough stone.

This exceptional array of diamonds aside, the collection is an explosion of colour replete with stunning gemstones as well as hard stones; nowhere more beautifully expressed than in the Lotus Cabochon necklace. Crafted using the tappetino setting technique, it is resplendent with turquoise, rubellite, amethyst and emerald cabochons mixed with diamonds, creating a tapestry of bold colour in true Bvlgari style.

The Terra Mater Serpenti necklace features a Colombian cabochon emerald of 63.86 carats, while the Sapphire Brocade necklace weaves diamonds, emeralds and a suite of Sri Lankan sapphires. “We started to work on the collection sixteen months before the launch,” says Lucia Silvestri, “but we began gathering the gemstones two years in advance. It’s a slow process.”

Lucia Silvestri, Jewellery Creative Director and Gems Buying Director, at Bvlgari’s 140th anniversary.

©Getty/Bvlgari

Lucia Silvestri not only selects the rarest, most beautiful gemstones for Bvlgari’s high jewellery collections; since 2013 she is also the creative director. Two professions that call on sometimes opposing qualities: boundless creativity for one; a hard business head for the other. She had planned to become a biologist but discovered a different passion when she met Gianni, Nicola and Paolo, the three sons of Giorgio Bulgari. At that time, the brand had just five stores worldwide.

A few weeks before the launch of the collection, Lucia Silvestri was at GemGenève where she gave a keynote alongside jewellery expert and historian Amanda Triossi – an opportunity for us to ask her about the Aeterna collection and learn more about her remarkable journey.

Bvlgari’s Lotus Cabochon necklace is set with round diamonds, turquoises, rubellites, amethysts and cabochon emeralds. Crafted using Bvlgari’s ‘tappetino’ technique, each stone is held by claw-like architectural elements.

Europa Star: What sparked your passion for gemstones?

Lucia Silvestri: Seeing Gianni, Paolo and Nicola Bulgari’s worktable, strewn with precious stones. It was the start of a love affair. That was 44 years ago, almost a lifetime.

When did you start designing jewellery yourself?

In the late Eighties. I was helping Paolo source stones. I travelled to Sri Lanka, just me, where I selected yellow and blue sapphires. I asked the seller to recut them as ovals, then suggested to Mr Bulgari that we mix the colours and use them together. They became a necklace.

Priyanka Chopra wears the Serpenti Aeterna necklace, the centrepiece of the high jewellery collection for Bvlgari’s 140th anniversary.

©Getty/Bvlgari

What takes precedence, the design or the stones?

The stones, although one of the first things Paolo Bulgari taught me was to never buy a stone if I didn’t know how to use it. The gemstones I choose have to “speak” to me in some way. Once I’ve made my selection, I play around with them until I find the most harmonious combination. Then I give the designers a few ideas. It’s a team effort. Our job is to create something new, something contemporary, but with a definite identity. It has to say Bvlgari from across the room.

It’s rare to be both a creative director and a gemmologist. The first is traditionally a woman’s job and the second more a male profession. What does it take to combine the two?

When I started out as a buyer, I was a shy, young woman in an intimidating, male-dominated world. Some sellers wouldn’t negotiate with me, but I was determined, passionate about gemstones and prepared to make sacrifices, and it’s thanks to this, and a little feminine charm, that I was able to make my way. I’m a woman but I’m a powerful woman. I often say there are two sides to me. One is creative and the other is business-oriented. I drive a hard bargain.

The ranks of collectors and connoisseurs have grown over the past decade, there is heightened competition between the most storied jewellers and exceptional stones are becoming harder to find. What has this changed for you, in your profession?

It’s become more difficult, because of the scarcity of gems and because of competition, but the way I choose stones is more or less the same. We’re always on the lookout for new gemstones. Over the past ten years we’ve used more semi-precious stones, which we should really call coloured stones. We mix them with the precious stones [diamond, sapphire, emerald and ruby]. Our collections are growing in size, at around 150 pieces, and this requires us to be more and more creative.

Fenice High-Jewelry Secret Watch

Which stone most caught your imagination?

Where to begin! Possibly the 93.83-carat cabochon emerald that became the centrepiece of the Hypnotic Serpenti necklace that Zendaya wore for the Venice Film Festival in 2021. Buying that beautiful emerald, with the cut I wanted, is one of the highlights of my career.

A model wears a suite from the Aeterna collection.

©Getty/Bvlgari

Do you have a favourite gemstone?

I like them all but I would have to say sapphire. When I started out, I thought all sapphires were blue, then I found out they can be many colours. The sapphire corresponds to who I am deep down. I can be one colour on the outside but multiple colours on the inside.

Which is the most extraordinary piece in the Aeterna collection?

The Serpenti Aeterna necklace. Its starting point was the discovery of a huge rough diamond from Lesotho. Initially, I was looking more for coloured stones, then I thought to myself, we’re an innovative house, why make only coloured jewellery when we can introduce light with diamonds! I began discussions with the owner of the rough two years ago. We studied the diamond, looked into its heart, and little by little we found our way, the size, the proportions, the cut. I wanted a set of seven diamonds totalling 140 carats for Bvlgari’s 140th anniversary.

How much did the rough stone weigh?

Around 200 carats. Lesotho has some superb rough stones.

How long did it take to source all the gemstones for this collection?

I started gathering the stones two years ago. There’s a lovely story behind the two Sri Lankan sapphires in the Serpenti Sapphire Echo necklace. I found them on a pair of vintage Bvlgari earrings which I bought from an elderly lady, two years ago. When she decided to sell them to us, she was happy to know they would be going back to where they had originated. We recut them and set them in a Serpenti necklace, a symbol of fertility and transformation. The sapphires can be detached from the necklace and worn as earrings. So a pair of legacy earrings has come back to life through a new creation.

Which is the most complex piece, in terms of the actual making?

The Serpenti Aeterna necklace, because the baguettes had to be set not on a flat structure but on a three-dimensional, serpentine form. This requires remarkable expertise.

Gouache of the Serpenti Aeterna necklace.

How long did it take to gather the sapphires for the Sapphire Brocade necklace?

It took me three years to find stones of the same colour, then have them recut, certified and bring them all together. It takes time.

Bvlgari was already a pioneer of coloured stones when you joined. Did you foresee that the market would take off and that the surging popularity of gemstones such as Paraiba tourmalines, Padparadscha sapphires, mandarin garnets and spinels would send prices through the roof?

I’ve always liked coloured stones. If they have gained in value, it’s because of us, because we started a trend. Bvlgari has always worked with coloured stones and everyone followed suit. Last year, for example, we introduced our Kumo collection, a portmanteau of kunzite and morganite. We bought the stones at a good price but they would cost us more than twice that today, just two years later! You can say the same for mandarin garnets. We were the first to use them as centrestones in our high jewellery collections, ten years ago. And the same is true of citrine, spinel, tourmaline, tanzanite and topaz. There is a magic inherent to coloured stones and we weave this magic into our jewels.

Serpenti Sapphire Echo necklace. The two Sri Lankan sapphires can be detached from the serpents’ heads and transformed into earrings.