THE ART OF PARTYING
After the successful global launch in Venice, Bulgari’s Festa high jewellery collection travelled to Bali last August for an exclusive preview and party. Peter Zewet reports
THE BULGARI RESORT BALI was aptly chosen for Bulgari’s Festa (meaning “party”) high jewellery launch in Asia. Around 100 one-of-a-kind jewels and high-end timepieces were brought in for the event. Celebrating the Italian art de vivre, the high jewellery collection were grouped into three themes: Festa dell ’Infanzia, Festa della Tradizione and Festa della Principessa, each one an homage to the sense of pure happiness of Italian Festas.
The Festa dell ’Infazia captures childhood happiness: birthday parties, sweet treats and amusing carnivals. Showcasing the Roman jeweller’s creativity, candies, balloons, cakes, ice creams and presents were among the things Bulgari reinterpreted through gold, enamel, diamonds, and precious stones including tourmalines, turquoises, coral and jade.
From the Festa dell ’Infazia comes a variety of rings in the shapes of cakes, rendered in different coloured gemstones to portray pistachio, lemon or raspberry cakes. Italian gelato and lollipop are also featured in the form of pendant and brooches in vivid-coloured gems with generous sprinkling of diamonds. Bulgari’s signature cabochon gemstones are transformed into helium balloons, looking as though they are about to float away from the chain to which they are tethered, their diamond ribbons trailing behind them.
Another fun necklace features the Ferris wheel with cabins made of emeralds and rubelites. And what would a birthday Festa be without a present? And so a statement necklace is created with its bold pendant in the shape of a ribboned and boxed present. Whimsical yet utterly precious, the Festa dell’Infazia theme exudes a ‘disruptive’ quality that is currently in vogue with the younger generation.
With the Festa della Tradizione theme, Bulgari explores different traditional Italian festivals. Harvesting, which features olives and pepperoncino (chilli peppers) as good luck charms, translate into two colourful jewellery sets. The olive jewels are
crafted in the shape of an enchanting branch, sparkling with peridot, amethyst and tourmaline olive-gems. On the other hand, the pepperocino jewels employ fanciful rubellite and amethyst peperoncini, with the elegance of diamonds and the radiance of peridot leaves.
In line with the Festa della Tradizione theme, Bulgari presents a web of diamond necklace inspired by the Tarantella folk dance that is believed to cure the deadly tarantula bite. Tamburelli (the tambourines), a strong element in Italian tradition, makes for another inspiration. The Tamburelli necklace is crafted in amethyst to rubellite, with touches of emerald and diamond.
One impressive jewel from the theme is the homage to the Palio di Siena, the famous Tuscan horse race in which 17 districts compete. Working closely with the city of Siena, the 17 districts emblems are replicated in their glorious colours, using precious coloured gemstones.
Taking inspirations from the lifestyle of the aristocrat, the Festa delle Principessa celebrates the sumptuous parties, grand palaces and iconic princesses throughout Italian history. More than 30 jewels in the collection pay homage to a number of Roman Princesses whose life is part of the city’s legend. Although they were born in very traditional aristocratic families, these ladies bravely chose freedom over tradition. They became famous for their taste, eccentricity, beauty and of course the Festas they threw.
Inspired by Princess Maria Mancini, who owned a fabulous jewellery collection which included an important pearl necklace and a pair of diamond pearl earrings, Bulgari created pieces in the Festa collection that refer to those historical pearls. One such piece is an impressive sautoir with 104 South Sea Akoya Pearls, set with a cabochon emerald. Princess Paolina Bonaparte inspired pieces of jewellery featuring sapphires and diamonds. Meanwhile, Princess Margherita di Savoia, whose favourite jewellery was a long double chain entirely made of diamonds bows, inspired the impressive jewels with the ribbon motif in sapphires and diamonds. The Festa delle Principessa theme certainly captures the unabashed luxury and beauty that Bulgari is famous for.
Epitomising the exuberant Italian Dolce Vita and supreme Roman elegance, the extensive Festa high jewellery collection showcases Bulgari’s unbridled creativity that is sure to please any jewellery aficionados.
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