The Story Behind Bvlgari’s Magnificent Mediterranean High Jewellery Collection

Venice was the backdrop for a collection designed to celebrate the intersection of cultural artistry

In between raindrops, to the sound of water lapping at the edges of Saint Mark’s Square, bejewelled guests in their finest attire strolled into the Doge’s Palace in Venice to witness the grand reveal of the Mediterranean high jewellery collection from Bvlgari. The gala marked the first time that a luxury house was allowed to present a runway show within the walls of the 600-year-old Palazzo, subtly yet effectively underlining the power and prestige of the brand.

It was a fitting venue for the latest offering from the fertile mind of Lucia Silvestri, who has been with Bvlgari for over 40 years and its creative director for close to a decade. The one-of-a-kind pieces looked right at home in a city with a long history of being an epicentre of trade. A place where influences of the Byzantine Empire would intertwine with that of the West, resulting in a creative cross-pollination that inspired artists for generations.

“The goal for us is to create emotions,” recounts Bvlgari’s CEO Jean-Christophe Babin. “But this doesn’t stop when we finish a collection of masterpieces. It extends to the way we showcase them. And the catwalk presentation needs to have an extraordinary location that will enhance our clients’ emotions. By presenting in a location that money cannot buy, that makes for a night of magic,” he continues.

The collection was broken into three parts called Southern Radiance, Roman Splendor, and East Meets West, to highlight the brand’s desire to delve deeper into the ways creativity from different parts of the world can interact and spark artistic ingenuity. In this way, the unique beauty of the south of Italy, Bvlgari’s Roman roots, and the power of the Mediterranean sea to act as a conduit to cities like Venice and Rome of the rarest of exotic treasures from the East, were expressed through Bvlgari’s bespoke bijoux.

A blue-hued hand-cut mosaic catwalk was created specifically for the event by the renowned artisanal Venetian mosaics company Orsoni1888, which has been plying its craft, as the name suggests, since 1888. On it, a bevvy of models, including Blesnia Minher and Stella Maxwell strolled in front of an audience that featured Bvlgari brand ambassadors Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Priyanka Chopra Jones and Blackpink’s Lisa, as a stirring soundtrack created especially for the evening by Italian orchestra director Beatrice Venezi played in the background.

But in a line-up of high jewellery, each piece as original as the next, there is always one that is designated to be the showstopper. The one chosen to close out the Bvlgari runway show and designed to elicit a gasp or two. For the Mediterranean collection, that honour was given to its impressive Muse of Rome necklace, worn by supermodel Eva Herzigova. She sported the piece, which features a heartstopping central sugarloaf-cut Colombian emerald clocking in at 218.53 carats, with the nonchalance of someone accustomed to slipping on singular high jewellery.

Jean-Christophe confirms that it was a challenge to get the Muse of Rome just right. “With a gemstone like this one, you have to be resolved and clear in the direction you want to take because, with a really rounded shape, you run the risk of it looking a bit bulky,” he admits. “So we decided to angle it, which was a risk as it’s a bit unconventional. But because the emerald is so massive we knew that to enhance and glorify its colour and to let the light penetrate its depths, it required a special cut. So a lot has been put into the cut,” he adds.

Just the sculpting and setting of the central emerald took 2,300 hours to achieve and instead of a single artisan running point on its creation, two were tapped to work in tandem to shape the stone. But the enhancement of the impressive central emerald didn’t end with the precision crafting of the stone. Bvlgari also designed two unique necklaces to accompany the gemstone.

The first consists of a pair of strands, that sit like a choker at the neckline, that have been crafted with a sense of lightness to their design. Strong enough to counterbalance the magnitude of the central emerald but, through the use of an array of different cut diamonds and buff-top emeralds, the necklace retains a graceful presence. The second option is a longer necklace strung from white pearls, with diamond and emerald accents, which results in a more free-flowing, décontracté approach to the jewel.

“It’s a very special piece and that is why we decided to combine two different options, a traditional jewellery choker, where the stone is very central. And then a more, I would say fashionable approach, using pearls. It’s great to have your beautiful gems presented with different styling options. And having dual wearability is something our clients really appreciate,” says Jean-Christophe.

If all of the little Bvlgari star-embossed discs (which signals a piece has already been sold) spotted on a myriad of the brand’s high jewellery display cases at its post-gala presentation the next day is any indication, the house has indeed found just the right way to “create emotions” in its devoted clientele.

Images: Bvlgari and Shutterstock.

From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s July/August 2023 issue.