Bulgari’s new high jewellery pays tribute to Milan

Bulgari Magnifica is a new collection of high jewellery and watches that sees the brand pay tribute to Milan. The city, hard hit by the pandemic, was the stage for the collection’s flamboyant launch at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which opened with an emotive performance from Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.

The Bulgari Magnifica collection is defined by a bold joie de vivre, its 350 pieces cast in vivid hues and drawing oversized silhouettes. Seductive motifs and an abundance of precious gems make for irresistible high jewellery. In one piece, a large cabochon-cut emerald is caught in the jaws of a diamond-studded snake; the world’s fourth largest spinel takes centre stage in another, from which flows a waterfall of diamond and emerald beads.

Despite the weight of the gems, the high jewellery is lightly fluid thanks to careful craftsmanship that puts the focus on wearability. Diamond petals and sapphires, teased into flexible loops, comfortably curve around the neck and rest on the collarbone. Other pieces take on changing identities and offer multiple options in terms of how to wear them – a ruby and diamond necklace can become nine different pieces, as a result of its articulated and detachable structure.

The colourful threads that run throughout the collection pay tribute to the Baroque traditions we frequently see at Bulgari, the dynamism of the movement translated into spirals of rubies, emeralds and sapphires that make for hypnotising necklaces, bracelets and rings.

It is a colourful combination carried through to the timepieces in the Bulgari Magnifica collection, which place a diamond-encrusted dial in the heart of similarly hypnotic coils. In one, rubies and diamonds encircle the dial, itself is concealed beneath an antique cushion-cut Mozambique ruby. In a diamond bracelet watch, meanwhile, the clarity of the stones becomes a waterfall of diamonds, juxtaposed against shimmering mother-of-pearl inserts.

Bulgari will be exploring the sensory allure of its most iconic motif, the Serpenti, in an experience at Harrods, London, which will run throughout July.

INFORMATION

Bulgari will host the Serpenti Maestria Pop-Up at Harrods, London, 4-30 July 2021.

bulgari.com