The bedazzling Brand Story of Bulgari

Before we plunge into the trailblazing waves that this brand with its sea deep heritage and layers of modernism has brought onto this world, let’s address the elephant in the room, shall we? What the heck is the name of the brand? Is it BULGARI or BVLGARI? Let’s get you up-to-date before you get schooled by a brand Nazi.

Bulgari is actually the legitimate name of the brand taken from how the founder, Sotirios Voulgaris’ name is spelled in Italian whereas Bvlgari, often seen on its products is the logo of the company. Paying homage to the brand’s Roman roots, the Latin ‘V’ was incorporated into the logo which was revealed for the first time in 1934 at a fancy Bulgari store in Italy.

Now, we begin to trace our steps back to Bulgari’s glorious and historic founder, Sotirios Voulgaris whose brainchild we now celebrate as a billion-dollar company with inherent layers of not just vintage fashion but also pop culture and modernity.

Once upon a time in a humble village in Greek lived a boy with magical hands filled with his ancestral art of silversmithing who moved to Rome in 1881 with a suitcase full of dreams. Soon after his arrival, his perfected art pushed him to open a store in Rome in 1884 where Voulgaris started carving his way to the top by imbibing his designs with the grandiose of the Roman culture and their sculpted architectural wonders that reign the sky. Little did he know that he wasn’t just creating beautifully detailed jewels but a legacy that’ll outlive not just him but many of his generations and eventually, British colonialism too.

Finally, the name S. Bulgari found itself on the posh Via De Condotti street in 1905 where the well-heeled strutted out and about, bringing the idyllic target market to the delicately made classic luxury jewelry pieces. Voulgaris’ sons, Constantino and Giorgio helped him put up this flagship store which symbolized the glory of the Eternal City in its every nook and corner.

Earlier, Bulgari churned out silver jewels with floral motifs with inspiration drawn from the vast Islamic art and Parisian trends ran rampant on Sotirio’s designs. The 20s reigned with Art Deco designs whereas the 30s saw geometric motifs ingrained with diamonds and magnificent convertible jewels became the talk of the town. One of the distinct pieces in the 1930s by Bulgari was the Trombino ring, the iconic trumpet ring with baguette-cut diamonds.

As the brand fostered, it seemed like Voulgaris felt his destiny was fulfilled so he took to the earth in 1932 and his sons took over the Bulgari brand after him.

Bulgari’s Breakthrough years

The 1950-60s were blessed for Bulgari for its excellence traveled to the Italian and American market and made guest appearances in Hollywood, being featured in Roman Holiday, King Kong, and Cleopatra. Even the saddening demise of Giorgio in 1966 did not hold back the brand, instead, it catapulted into the international markets by opening stores in New York, Geneva, Monte Carlo, and Paris.

Bulgari was in a state of efflorescence in the 1970s when they decided to change the whole fabric of the brand to distinguish its personality in a room full of people since it was then internationalized. Soon after, it changed course into the unknown territory of watchmaking which it did triumphantly and smoothly just like Pope Francis chartered into leading the Catholic Church after being a bouncer at night! Not that there’s any comparison here.

After perfecting the art of watchmaking, the Bulgari Time Company was launched in 1981 and Bulgari never looked back for the brand is a lot of things but never boring and stagnant.

1992 saw another leap by Bulgari as it launched its first fragrance – Eau Perfumée and fabricating a misty aura of classy extravagance and luxury of Bvlgari perfume to go with your jewelry.

Bulgari soon dipped its toes into world-class bags, accessories, hotels embedded with the brand DNA, creating a legacy with each and every piece in just a matter of 10-15 years.

1997

Bulgari dove into stoles and a silk collection was released worldwide. The same year saw a power couple agreement with Luxottica for the production of stylish eyewear, synonymous with the brand style.

2001

The 21^st century brought a tsunami of milestones for Bulgari as 2001 saw the creation of Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts with the Luxury Group which is the hotel division of Marriott International.

2011

Two high-class families met when Bulgari joined the LVMH group only to brighten up the future of the fashion and beauty industry to a phenomenal level.

Bvlgari’s Merger with Pop Culture

The Serpenti Collection

The 1960s saw the birth of the evergreen Serpenti watches with a color revolution taking over gemstones with coiled silhouettes that have more character than you’d think.

Greek and Roman mythology saw snakes with more positive attributes, denoting rebirth, power, eternity, and strength. Even Plato commented that the image of a snake eating its own tail is symbolic of eternal life and apparently not disgustingly creepy.

The slithering snake wasn’t just going to crawl over just your hands forever and it soon made its way into bags and sunglasses in the form of the Serpenti Forever for Fall-Winter 2020, extending the symbolic power of snakes.

Soon the Serpenti collection saw itself creeping into pop culture akin to a snake quietly making its way. The edgy watches and bracelets synced with the rampant goth culture which became Bulgari’s debut amongst the millennials and we soon saw it in “Say my name” by  Florence + The Machine where the singer was dressed as Cleopatra.

Bulgari’s Wild 80s Essence

Wild Pop Collection

Andy Warhol, a pop culture icon and a fellow fan of Bulgari who lauded the brand for bringing a color revolution that embodied the wild style of the 80s. In this spirit, Lucia Silvestri, Bulgari Creative Director explored The Andy Warhol Foundation in New York in an attempt to find traces of the brand in his archives and that’s now WILD POP was born. This collection celebrates Bulgari’s unabashed and unapologetic palette of pop colors with a surprising arrangement of gemstones encircled by its iconic and classic design and motifs.

Bulgari Celebrating Feminism In Its Jewels

Tribute to Feminity- Exhibition of Magnificent Roman Jewels

In this exhibition, a retrospective approach was taken where the Bulgari Heritage Collection was put to show. Lucia Boscaini said, “We considered Bulgari in a special perspective i.e., how women acquired more freedom, including freedom in jewelry.”

Bulgari’s Uplifting The Society

Save The Children Campaign

Bulgari’s muse for this campaign was its iconic B.zero 1 collection which was made available in distinct Bulgari stores worldwide and online as well and for every purchase of the collection’s pendant, bracelet, or ring, $100 was donated. Bulgaria photographed over 250 celebrities wearing the Save The Children jewelry, to promulgate the cause even further. This became a long-standing partnership and raised a humongous amount of 80 million dollars globally.

Bulgari’s Vision For Ethical Luxury

To tread on the path to curate a world of sustainability, Bulgari collaborated with Firmenich and Jasmine Concrete to spring about an investment in flower farming in Tamil Nadu, India. To promote ethical sourcing and production of perfumes, this project aims at proliferation farmer’s profits as well as  enhance the quality of the flowers used.

Being a connoisseur of gems, Bulgari aimed to also bolster the natural gems of the world by concocting a sustainable farming model that not only indulges in soil and water management but also aims to bolster the local economy. This initiative is an outgrowth of Bulgari’s drive to strive with innovation, technology and heritage.

BULGARI is a brand with a multi-faceted personality incorporating rustic coins and serpents in its jewelry, coiling their gemstones into beautiful jewelry, watches, and accessories to don you in Roman and Greek history. The brand is bigger than its products, its historic accents, and is an amalgamation of its values, visionary approaches to modernity, ode to traditions, and is a projection of the fragments of the many generations it has passed by.