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【Rome, Italy】Interview with BVLGARI Jewellery Creative Director Lucia Silvestri: ‘Only when I can see through the gemstone can I feel its life and beauty’

Dec 18, 2020

Editor’s Note

**Editor’s Note:** This piece explores BVLGARI’s deep connection to Rome and its pioneering use of coloured gemstones, with insights from Jewellery Creative Director Lucia Silvestri on the brand’s design philosophy and trendsetting classics.

Fashion

18 Dec 2020
Rome, with its rich history, has shaped BVLGARI’s jewellery aesthetic world and its unique philosophy of “joie de vivre.” The brand is a pioneer in using coloured gemstones in high jewellery design. Here, we take a closer look at the brand’s trendsetting classics, while Jewellery Creative Director Lucia Silvestri discusses the brand’s jewellery design philosophy in detail.
by Leslie Chan
A stunning necklace from the BVLGARI Cinemagia collection requires over 500 hours of craftsmanship.
BVLGARI’s bold designs exude joy and vitality, with the use of coloured gemstones consistently being a brand highlight. Flawless white diamonds form the foundation of the designs, while bold coloured gemstones such as rubies, sapphires, and emeralds truly embody the brand’s creative spirit. From faceted cuts to the cabochon cut—a style popular since the 1950s—cabochon gemstones are smoothly cut and polished to achieve a rich, full effect. BVLGARI’s artisans boldly use gemstones of exceptional purity and ideal colour, elevating the beauty of these pieces to the highest level.
BVLGARI Cinemagia high jewellery rose gold necklace, set with an octagonal step-cut emerald and multiple diamonds.
Take the brand’s most iconic Taylor-Burton necklace, for example: a large, perfectly uniform deep green gemstone (totalling over 60 carats) sourced from Colombia, making it an unparalleled work of art. But the brand did not stop there; the family sourced the rarest rubies from Myanmar from the gemstone market, along with sapphires from Kashmir, renowned for their unique cornflower blue hue. Although these mines have been depleted for decades, the gemstones they produced are irreplaceable in quality and brilliance. After being set by BVLGARI’s skilled artisans, they are reborn alongside the jewellery pieces, given a new precious life. Because coloured gemstones have unique properties and cannot be graded like diamonds, each piece possesses its own distinct personality.
BVLGARI Serpenti 1969 creation, gold bracelet watch set with green enamel, emeralds, and diamonds.
BVLGARI Wild Pop high jewellery series coloured gemstone rose gold necklace.
In fact, as one of the first houses to use coloured gemstones in high jewellery creation, BVLGARI possesses a unique expertise in gemstone appreciation and craftsmanship. For example, sapphires are often broadly seen as blue gemstones, but they actually exhibit a variety of colour variations and gradations, including yellow, pink, and green. BVLGARI was the first jewellery brand to deeply appreciate these colour variations, using craftsmanship to maximise the tones and brilliance of the gemstones. This highlights not only the artisans’ superb skill but also the bold, innovative character deeply ingrained in the brand. The use of coloured gemstones like amethyst, citrine, tourmaline, and garnet creates an endless sense of beauty through dancing colours, resulting in unique works of art.
BVLGARI Wild Pop high jewellery series rose gold bracelet.

VOGUE Hong Kong Interview with Lucia Silvestri – BVLGARI Jewellery Creative Director

Lucia Silvestri
Bulgari. Rome. Italy. 09/2017 © david atlan
VOGUE Hong Kong: We know that the Taylor-Burton necklace uses the world’s most precious emeralds. How long does it typically take to source the right gemstones for a high jewellery piece?

“It really depends. Because every sourcing is different, and different gemstones always bring unpredictable surprises. Generally, it can take a long time; a recent example is the Barocko collection, where we spent about two years searching for emeralds to realise the Green Dream necklace—an incredible set of five emeralds totalling 128.00 carats, combining exceptional weight, deep colour, and bright light.”

VOGUE Hong Kong: The supply of rough rubies, sapphires, and emeralds has gradually decreased, such as Burmese rubies, Kashmiri sapphires, and Colombian emeralds. In recent years, what other gemstone sources have you explored, and what are the characteristics of sourcing from different regions?

“BVLGARI’s pioneering vision extends to using other resources to supply exceptional gemstones. Our collections also use rubies from Mozambique, sapphires from Sri Lanka, and emeralds from Zambia. They all possess exquisite beauty and colour.”

VOGUE Hong Kong: BVLGARI is known for its bold use of colour. Can you tell us more about the brand’s historical use of coloured gemstones?

“Colour is part of our DNA. As BVLGARI’s master of coloured gemstones, our jewellery has always been, and will always be, an eternal tribute to colour itself. In fact, in our collections, we have both monochromatic and polychromatic pieces, using both bright and soft colours… In the Barocko collection, we once again emphasised this unique and special connection. Indeed, one of the key words of the collection is colour, which is also one of the main elements of Baroque art.”

VOGUE Hong Kong: What are your criteria for sourcing gemstones?

“The primary basic criterion is colour. Then clarity, size, and cut—which is also very important because the right cut adds extra elegance and beauty to the gemstone. Interestingly, in the jewellery industry today, ‘BVLGARI cut’ has become synonymous with elegant cutting.”

Giardinetto brooch, created between the late 1950s and late 1960s, featuring a basket with flowers and leaves.

VOGUE Hong Kong: Which coloured gemstone collections/creative works are most iconic?

“The High Jewellery Barocko collection, launched a few months ago, is a perfect example of an iconic coloured gemstone collection, as all its pieces use typical BVLGARI colours. Take the Lady Arabesque necklace, for instance—it unexpectedly combines pink and purple sapphires, paraiba tourmalines, and emeralds. This necklace highlights the wearer’s feminine, joyful, and elegant nature while paying homage to Baroque colour and aesthetics. Indeed, as I mentioned earlier, one of the key words of this collection is colour, which is also a main element of Baroque art.”

VOGUE Hong Kong: Can you share with us what the ideal hues for rubies, emeralds, and sapphires are?

“The ideal gemstone is hard to describe, but it’s certain that for each of the three gemstones you mentioned, the main characteristic is colour—it must be vibrant, bright, and open, not too dark. Only when I can see through the gemstone can I feel its life and its beauty.”

As a pioneer in using coloured gemstones, the brand masterfully shapes glamorous allure.
Bulgari. Rome. Italy. 09/2017 © david atlan
VOGUE Hong Kong: In recent years, many jewellery designers have also incorporated topaz, garnet, tanzanite, etc. What is BVLGARI’s design inspiration for these coloured gemstones?

“We can proudly say that BVLGARI created this trend. When other brands were not doing so, BVLGARI integrated these coloured gemstones into its high jewellery pieces.”

BVLGARI
Lucia Silvestri
Editor: Leslie Chan
Credit: Photo Courtesy of BVLGARI

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⏰ Published on: December 18, 2020