BULGARI

Bulgari is an iconic, instantly recognisable name in the world of high class jewellery and luxury goods. Traditionally a brand associated with very high-quality jewellery and watches, Bulgari has more recently expanded its range to include perfumes, silk scarves, sunglasses, spectacle frames and leather goods.

The company's founder, Sotirios Boulgaris (later to become Bulgari), was born in Greece in 1857. Having left the family home in Corfu in 1880, the young silversmith moved to Naples in 1880, where he ran a store selling silver belts, buckles, bracelets, and buttons, in partnership with another silversmith, Demetrio Kremos. After their Naples shop was burgled and they were left almost penniless, they moved to Rome, where they eked out a living selling their wares from a street stall, until they were able to afford new premises in the Via Sistina. The two men parted  company in 1884, and Sotirio set up on his own for the first time, also in the Via Sistina, adding merchandise such as antiques and "curiosities" to his rapidly growing inventory.

In 1888 Sotirios married Eleni, the young daughter of neighbours in Corfu, and they had six children, three boys and three girls, between 1889 and 1897. An enterprising businessman, Boulgaris had by the turn of the century established outlets in St. Moritz, San Remo, Naples, Bellagio, and Sorrento. In keeping with his adopted country, the family name had by now been modified to become Bulgari, and Sotirios had become Sotirio.

During the first decade of the 20th century, Sotirio Bulgari sold most of his shops in order to concentrate on a dedicated jewellery and silver business. In 1905 he purchased a shop in the Via Condotti in Rome, a location that remains the Bulgari flagship store to this day. The new outlet offered a more upmarket selection of goods, ranging from embossed and engraved silver serving pieces to decorative ceramics as well as gold and silver jewellery, often set with gemstones. The burgeonning Bulgari brand gradually took on a more cosmopolitan air, and Giorgio and Costantino, the two eldest Bulgari sons, were now also involved in the family business. By the time the company had resumed business after the First Word War, Bulgari had completed its shift from an emphasis on silver to more expensive gold and gemstone jewellery.

After Sotirio died in 1932, his sons undertook an extensive refurbishment of both the interior and the exterior of the Via Condotti store, and formally changed the company logo to "BVLGARI," an application of the traditional Roman alphabet. The ambitious project took two years to complete, and featured the pink and beige Italian marble that would become the worldwide hallmark of the firm's retail outlets. Giorgio spent much time travelling the world to source fine gemstones, while Costantino's main artistic contribution at the time was to collect antique silver wares which would later serve to inspire the company's adaptation of classical themes as the hallmark of the Bulgari brand.

Bulgari continued, throughout the first half of the 20th century, to follow the trend set by what was then the world's jewellery capital, namely Paris. In the 1920s, Bulgari embraced Art Deco themes. In the 1930s, the company concentrated on diamonds set in platinum. After the war the Bulgari brothers continued to follow trends, rather than set them, although they were always highly regarded for their craftsmanship. In the prosperous years of the postwar era, Bulgari produced lavish settings of diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, and rubies in platinum, with floral motifs being especially popular during this period.

The marble-decked facade of the Via Condotti store would be the backdrop of many magazine photos in the postwar era, as celebrities from around the world were drawn to the Bulgari shop. The expanding clientele included Italian nobility, as well as eminent political figures and businessmen from the United States and other developed countries.

During the 1960s, Bulgari began to break away from the fashion dictates of Paris, and sought to establish their own recognisable style. The emerging Bulgari design style departed from that of the French in several respects. Instead of large, faceted diamond centerpieces, Bulgari began to produce pieces with coloured gemstones in a smooth, domed cabochon cut. Brilliant cut or pavé set diamonds were used simply to accentuate the colourful gems settings. When choosing its gemstones, Bulgari preferred to use those which best suited the overall balance of artistic creation, rather than seeking to simply add value by using expensive stones such as rubies, sapphires and emeralds. Yellow gold was usually the metal of choice to complement these settings.

In 1967, Giorgio Bulgari's three sons. Gianni, Paolo and Nicola took control of the company. Paolo, the most talented of the three, sought to maintain his family's traditions whilst moving forward with new and exciting forms and ideas.  Nicola's contribution was mainly as an astute businessman, but he was also responsible for an important design contribution, introducing the use of patinated old coins set in highly polished precious metals, another hallmark of Bulgari design.

Bulgari established a New York outlet in 1970 in Pierre Hotel on Fifth Avenue. By the end of the decade, they had opened shops in Geneva, Monte Carlo and Paris. Bulgari's jewellery designs of the 1970s were strongly influenced by Egyptian designs from the treasures of Tutankhamen's tomb, as well as by Indian motifs which were also fashionable in the 1970s. It was also during this decade that Bulgari introduced the BVLGARI-BVLGARI wristwatch, featuring a black face surrounded by a gold band, which would become the brand's most recognisable and successful watch. The 1970s was a decade of great success for Bulgari. Wealthy patrons included celebrities such as Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn, Kirk Douglas, and Elizabeth Taylor. Royalty from around the world also shopped at the company's showcase stores, while lesser jewellers began to copy Bulgari designs.

The early 1980s saw a relative halt in Bulgari's growth, with the eldest brother, Gianni, resigning as chief executive in 1985. Giorgio and Nicola also had other business interests, and asked their nephew, Francesco Trapani, to try to revitalise the business. As the new chief executive, Trapani adopted an aggressive growth strategy, opening new retail outlets in Milan, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Osaka, Singapore, London, Munich and New York during the second half of the decade. New designers were hired and advertising was greatly increased during this period of renewed growth. It was also during this time that the emphasis shifted from being a business exclusively for the very rich to one which offered quality designs to a wider potential clientèle, whilst remaining nonetheless firmly established at the high end of the market.

During the late 1980s. Bulgari widened its scope in jewellery design to include pieces intended for everyday wear, not just for special occasions. Polished steel and coral were used in modular designs which combined individual elements in a variety of ways to form rings, bracelets, watches, necklaces, and earrings. The same modules were used to produce high-end pieces using precious gemstones, gold and platinum, thus combining an overall uniformity of theme with a great diversity of patterns and affordability. Planned obsolescence also began to play a part through the introduction of thematic collections such as Doppio Cuore (Double Heart), Gancio (Hook) and Alvaere (Beehive) This strategy was largely responsible for a tripling of Bulgari's sales during the late 1980s under Trapani's leadership.

Bulgari continued to launch collections of modular jewellery in the early 1990s, with such names as Saetta, Spiga, Naturalia, Celtica, Doppio Passo, Chandra and Trika. These Bulgari patterns became instant status symbols, and were highly sought after by trendsetters of the time. Meanwhile, Trapani followed the lead of other major luxury goods companies by using the brand name to promote the sale of other goods including silver tableware and giftware, whilst taking care not to devalue the Bulgari cachet by compromising on the quality of the new merchandise. The launch of a carefully researched range of perfumes saw a marked increase Bulgari's overall sales in the mid 1990s. This was followed by the successful launch of Bulgari silk scarves and ties, spectacle frames, sunglasses and leather goods.

Despite all this recent diversification, the strikingly simple BVLGARI jewellery adverts in the quality press are what remain firmly impressed on the public perception of the company, and should ensure that this iconic jeweller remains at the pinnacle of the global jewellery market.