The name often confuses people, but the brand astonishes them. Bulgari (often stylized and branded as BVLGARI) is an extensive luxury brand with its roots in jewelry making, which remains one of its best selling products to this day. This Italian brand was founded in Rome in 1884 by a silversmith of Bulgarian descent named Sotirios Voulgaris (later changed to Sotirio Bulgari). It began as one small jewelry shop, and over the next 130 years, it released a series of products and styles that allowed it to expand to the powerhouse brand it is today. Here’s a brief overview of what makes this brand one of the most popular selling brands at auction in Fort Lauderdale and many other parts of the world.
Roots in Rome
In the first few decades of its existence, Bulgari specialized in silver pieces of jewelry that were often floral themed. As time progressed and trends evolved, the jewelry produced by Bulgari also changed to reflect its European environment. This meant a heavy emphasis on platinum Art Deco designs during the 1920s, followed by geometric diamond shapes accompanied with colorful gemstones during the 1930s.
One year after Sotirio Bulgari died, his sons renovated and reopened their store under the newly designed name of BVLGARI in order to honor their Roman roots. During the first half of the 1940s, Bvlgari produced jewelry products that were mainly made of gold and featured fewer gems, giving it a much simpler look. This was due to the conditions being brought on by World War II, which the company responded to by introducing the famous Serpenti bracelets shortly after the end of the war.
Bvlgari soon began a stream of products with a focus on yellow gold, symmetrical shapes, and brilliantly colored gems. This unique and intrinsically elegant style began making Bvlgari products a favorite of actresses all over the world.
The Great Expansion
During the 1970s and ’80s, Bvlgari began expanding its product line to include other products like their now famous line of watches. Later on, the company saw even more expansions to include fragrances, leather fashion accessories, and even hotels. During this process of diversification, the company made sure to remember their jewelry roots by bringing back the famous serpent theme that had made them so popular in the ’60s.
Signature Styles
One of their earliest extremely popular pieces is a small trumpet-shaped ring known as the Trombino. Later product models that have since embedded themselves as examples of Bvlgari at its finest include their original 1975 BVLGARI-BVLGARI watches. The company’s products are easily identifiable by their magnificent use of color often involving unusual combinations of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds.
