Bulgari celebrates its latest high jewelry collection, Aeterna, in Rome, honoring its 140-year legacy with dazzling elegance.
Bulgari, the prestigious high jewelry house, couldn’t have chosen a more fitting location to present its latest high jewelry collection, Aeterna, than in the Eternal City. “It’s the first time I see the entire collection exhibited together, so it’s always an exciting moment,” said Lucia Silvestri, the brand’s jewelry creative director, on Monday morning at one of Rome’s most prominent venues, the Baths of Diocletian.
This moment was even more special because Aeterna pays homage to Bulgari’s 140th anniversary. “It was essential for me to do something special, also because I was convinced it would be my last collection,” said Silvestri, who agreed to stay another year, thus postponing her supposed retirement.
Regardless of her future plans, she managed to leave another indelible mark. To celebrate the brand milestone, Silvestri and her craftsmen conceived the Serpenti Aeterna necklace, which she described as “the most precious necklace ever created by Bulgari.” Later that evening, brand ambassador Priyanka Chopra Jonas wore the necklace during Bulgari’s high jewelry fashion show, seated alongside brand ambassadors Anne Hathaway, Liu Yifei, Shu Qi, and Hikari Mori.
The fashion show, which took place in the Ludovisi Cloister within the architectural complex of the Baths, was styled by Carine Roitfeld and received cheers when Isabella Rossellini and Carla Bruni appeared on the runway, following in the footsteps of Mariacarla Boscono, Blesnya Minher, and Elisabetta Dessy.
In her third year as a brand ambassador, Hathaway, accompanied by her husband Adam Shulman, said that the house’s anniversary was especially significant, emphasizing how Bulgari is a “legendary and familial brand, and legacy is very important to me, as is craftsmanship.” In her role, “I’ve had the opportunity to see the standards [Bulgari] adheres to and the number of jobs they create.”
Silvestri said that the initial sketches of the Serpenti Aeterna necklace were conceived in 2022. “We wanted to continue challenging ourselves and surprise everyone with the decision to highlight diamonds instead of colored gemstones, as many would have expected from Bulgari.”
The necklace, she said, symbolizes eternity and “the brand’s ability to keep reinventing itself.” A rough diamond of over 200 carats was cut to create seven drops of pure and transparent diamond, totaling 140 carats, one for each year of the brand’s history. Adding an additional challenge, the drops were set in a sinuous and undulating platinum structure, adorned with 698 baguette diamonds weighing 61.81 carats. The back of the necklace reveals Bulgari’s characteristic snake symbol as a clasp. The necklace required over 2,800 hours to complete.
The Baths of Diocletian are considered the largest baths in ancient Rome, covering an area of 13 hectares and built between 298 and 306 AD. It was “the first place” that Silvestri had in mind because “it’s a monumental landmark, a place like this only exists in Rome, the Eternal City that makes us dream, and there’s a strong connection with the collection.”
“The Serpenti Aeterna represents the pinnacle of excellence,” proudly stated CEO Jean-Christophe Babin, who clearly aimed to make a statement with the collection and the event, as Bulgari also unveiled their new high-end watches, handbags, and fragrances for a total of 500 pieces.
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