The Celebration Journal
No. 1
2009
1884
BETWEEN HISTORY AND ETERNITY
125 years of Italian jewellery
by Amanda Triossi,
Curator of the upcoming Bulgari exhibition
at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome
Years of research in the Bulgari archives have come to fruition
with an in-depth look at the history of this extraordinary brand
and what it represents in the world today. The assembly and
analysis of historical documents has enabled us to reconstruct
a remarkable story that spans centuries and international
borders, tracing the course for the taste of innovation and
detail that has become an unmistakable style in its own right.
Bulgari occupies a significant chapter in the history of
jewellery making, which begins with Sotirio Bulgari, the
company’s founder. The uniqueness of his vision; the
originality of his incorporation of classical Greece and Rome
into the ethos of his own time; the boldness of his journey, like
a modern-day Odyssey, that would take him to Corfu and
Naples and finally to the capital of the newly unified Italian
Republic, have even older and deeper roots.
Born in 1857 in the Epirus Mountains, the range crossed by
the Acheron (the River Styx of legend) and presided over by
the Temple of Zeus at Dodona, Sotirio Bulgari was raised in a
world of myth and metal smithery, a vital art of his region
handed down from Byzantine times. The power of the GrecoRoman vocabulary on the one hand and nearly 2,000 years of
technical mastery on the other equipped the young Sotirio
with courage, vision and a special sensitivity to the artistic
tenor of world around him that enabled him to challenge both
geographical and stylistic boundaries.
Until the early decades of the 20th century, Bulgari was an
advocate of the Art Déco movement that was destined to
change the taste of the entire Western world and from that
point forward has continued to introduce key technical and
aesthetic innovations to the field. After the extravagance of
the fifties and the chromatic renaissance of the following
decade, Bulgari captured the glamour that lay at the heart of
the Pop Art movement during the seventies, and then
changed the way we make and think about jewellery yet
again in the wild eighties by introducing the prêt-à-porter
concept to the luxury sector.
In more recent years, long and tireless research has culminated
in the creation of an historical archive and a permanent
collection of landmark Bulgari jewels which recount and
explain the monograph that is Bulgari’s rich history. This
massive effort required the reorganization of a cultural
heritage comprising many thousands of documents,
photographs and original sketches, along with selecting and
locating the finest Bulgari creations of the past 125 years,
many of which had to be tracked down and reacquired with no
small amount of difficulty. Such a wealth of fascinating
historical material, brought together for the first time,
naturally had to be shared with the public: thus, the
retrospective which I have the honour of curating.
The exhibition, which opens in Rome in late spring, will
celebrate both the founder and the history shared by Bulgari
and the Eternal City. Moreover, 2009 marks the 125th
anniversary of the opening of the first Bulgari shop in Rome.
It is here that a new vision began to grow and spread.
Today, Bulgari is the premiere maker of coloured gemstone
jewellery in the world, and its style, founded on the Roman
distillation of the Greek heritage, is recognized everywhere,
unmistakable in all its many evolutions.
The Palazzo delle Esposizioni, built just a few hundred meters
from the places where the young Sotirio Bulgari, in those
same years, established his reputation as a master jeweller,
will display 400 of the best jewels, watches and decorative
objects produced by Bulgari throughout its history.
The majority have never been seen before in public, having
spent decades in private collections and safes. Additional
works from the private Bulgari Vintage Collection will also
be exhibited, alongside drawings, historic documents and
photographs of famous clients: businessmen, aristocrats,
artists, film stars. In short, an exhibition not to be missed,
whether one be an aficionado of history, a devotee of this
most magnificent of Italian luxury brands, or simply eager
to share in the glamour that Bulgari has epitomized for more
than a century.
Portrait of Sotirio Bulgari
The importance of roots
by Paolo Bulgari,
President of the Bulgari Group
In such a delicate historical moment as this, characterized
by uncertainty the world over, it is nonetheless important
for us to revisit our roots and celebrate 125 years of a
history that partakes three different centuries.
In 1884, when my grandfather Sotirio founded the
company that continues to bear his name, the world was
clearly a very different place.
So, the opportunity to commemorate his tenacity and the
determination of the generations that followed – my
father Giorgio, his children, our nephew Francesco –
thanks to which the company has prospered, is
understandably a source of pride.
Even more satisfying is the knowledge that the values of
one man, passed on to us, his family, have since become
values shared by the thousands of people who work for
Bulgari in numerous countries around the world.
The conviction that aesthetic beauty enriches people’s
lives, an uncompromising commitment to quality, and a
respect for everyone who collaborates with the company
have always been the values that guide us, and thanks to
this we shall look forward to our next 125 years with
optimism and serenity.
1965: necklace with precious and semi-precious stones in contrasting colours. 38 carats of turquoise, 88.50 carats of cabochon-cut emeralds, 22 carats of cabochon-cut amethysts and
72 carats of brilliant-cut diamonds.
2009
1884
REWRITE THE FUTURE
AND SAVE THE CHILDREN
Bulgari and its clients give their
support to eight million of the world’s
most vulnerable children
by Charlotte Petri Gornitzka,
General Secretary of the International Save the Children Alliance
I would like to thank Bulgari for its support for Save
the Children’s «Rewrite the Future» campaign.
By taking part in the campaign, Bulgari and its clients
will make a difference to some of the most vulnerable
children in the world.
Save the Children is the world’s biggest
independent international organization working for
the promotion and protection of children’s rights.
Founded in 1919, we work in more than 120
countries around the world, with a network of
national organizations. The international secretariat,
the International Save the Children Alliance serves
in a consulting capacity on the United Nations
Economic and Social Council.
Save the Children is developing hundreds of
programs in the areas of education, emergency
response, healthcare, nutrition and protection
against child labour and abuse. We put pressure on
governments and institutions to put the children’s
rights sanctioned by the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child at the centre of their policy.
Through the «Rewrite the Future» campaign, Save
the Children has made a commitment to ensure that,
by 2010, eight million children living in countries
ravaged by war will get a good-quality education.
Already, our campaign has created a solid
foundation for long-term change in the lives of
nearly six million children. We have built schools,
supplied teaching materials and protected children
from all forms of violence.
A silver ring, featuring an engraving of the Save the
Children logo on the inside, has been created
specially for the «Rewrite the Future» campaign.
The ring bears witness to the commitment of
Bulgari, and all those who wear it, to Save the
Children and to the children we support.
Joseph, 10 years old, embraces his books in a school in Bahr el Ghazal, southern Sudan.
Foto: Save the Children
Foto: Save the Children
Valerio Neri, General Director of Save the Children Italia; Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, General Secretary of the
International Save the Children Alliance; Francesco Trapani, CEO of the Bulgari Group.
The elementary school of Busamba, in the Rwenzori mountain range, has only four trees to demarcate the ‘classrooms’.
If it rains, school is over. Save the Children is funding a new building in this area.
www.bulgari.com
2009
1884
BEING PART OF HISTORY MEANS BEING ABLE TO CHANGE IT
A concrete commitment
to improving
the children’s future
by Francesco Trapani,
Chief Executive Officer of the Bulgari Group
For Bulgari, the best way to celebrate its 125th anniversary
is to participate, with joy and dedication, in Save the
Children’s «Rewrite the Future» campaign, which is aimed
at providing education, and thus a better future to millions
of children suffering from the consequences of war and
conflict.
This is an initiative that is both unprecedented in scale and
totally consistent with Bulgari’s commitment to the
education of young people around the world, an ambitious
project of concrete solidarity whose goal I hope we will
not only achieve but, with the help of our clients and Save
the Children’s supporters, even surpass.
Save the Children is the world’s foremost international
organization for the protection of children’s rights.
Bulgari has chosen to offer support to one of its most
important campaigns by collecting ten million euros, one
of which has already been donated, with the rest coming
in over the course of the year. Each of the silver rings
that we have dedicated to Save the Children will be
transformed into schools, teacher training courses and
programs to protect children from violence and to
reintegrate child-soldiers into society.
In addition to the silver ring, Bulgari has created a limited
collection of special pieces of high jewellery and watches
with an overall value of three million euros. This collection
will be officially presented in Rome at the retrospective
hosted by the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in celebration of
the brand’s 125th anniversary and later at major Bulgari
events around the world, after which it will finally be put
up for auction in New York at the end of 2009, with all
proceeds going directly to Save the Children.
I take this opportunity to thank the numerous celebrities
from the worlds of music, film and culture who are
supporting this initiative alongside us, including Benicio
del Toro, Julianne Moore, Ben Stiller, Sting, Sally Field,
Willem Dafoe, Alain Delon, Isabella Rossellini, Andy
Garcia, Jim Belushi, Jason Lewis, Eros Ramazzotti,
Giuseppe Tornatore, Laetitia Casta, Terrence Howard,
Hugh Jackman, Gabriele Muccino, Ellen de Generes,
Portia de Rossi, Kimberly Pierce, Alessandra Ferri,
Fabrizio Ferri, Valeria Golino, Rosario Fiorello,
Giuseppe Fiorello, Jennifer Esposito,
Vittoria Puccini, Cristiana Capotondi, Lena Headey,
Debra Messing, Leonard Goldberg and Paolo Maldini,
all of whom understand that it is only by working
together that we can rewrite the future.
1. Willem Dafoe, 2. Giuseppe Tornatore, 3. Rosario Fiorello, 4. Jason Lewis, 5. Fabrizio Ferri, 6. Alessandra Ferri, 7. Isabella Rossellini, 8. Valeria Golino, 9. Vittoria Puccini.
A silver ring for Save
the Children
The ring created by Bulgari in support of Save the
Children’s «Rewrite the Future» campaign is as special as
that which it symbolizes.
On the outside it bears the name of Sotirio Bulgari, the
founder, who 125 years ago launched the epic history of a
brand that would soon become renowned the world over.
The choice of silver – unusual for Bulgari, which has long
favoured gold – is a tribute to Sotirio Bulgari’s origins as a
silversmith.
On the inside is the Save the Children logo as a reminder to
its wearer of the ring’s purpose. The ring will be available
for sale from February 1 to December 31, 2009 in all
Bulgari stores around the world and in selected department
stores at 290 euros, 50 of which will go to this vital and
worthwhile campaign for the protection and education of
millions of children.
Silver ring for Save the Children.
www.bulgari.com
Advertisement from the ’60s, Bulgari Historical Archive.