BULGARI: 125 YEARS OF ITALIAN MAGNIFICENCE

THE VENERABLE ITALIAN LUXURY JEWELRY HOUSE BULGARI IS COMMEMORATING ITS 125th ANNIVERSARY WITH A STUNNING NEW EXHIBIT AT THE GRAND PALAIS IN PARIS. THE EXHIBITION WILL TRACE INSPIRING CHAPTERS IN BULGARI'S HISTORY AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE AESTHETIC THAT MADE THE ICONIC BRAND A DRIVING FORCE OF THE 'ITALIAN SCHOOL', FROM THE OPENING OF THE FIRST SHOP ON VIA SISTINA IN 1884 THROUGH TO THE MODERN DAY IDEAS AND IDEALS. THE FASCINATING SAGA IS ILLUSTRATED BY MORE THAN 600 MASTERPIECES OF JEWELRY, WATCH AND CLOCK-MAKING, AND DECORATIVE ART, INCLUDING SOME ONE HUNDRED EXCLUSIVE PIECES THAT WILL BE ON DISPLAY FOR THE FIRST TIME. THE EXHIBIT IS DIVIDED CHRONOLOGICALLY INTO PERIODS AND THE RETROSPECTIVE BEGINS WITH DESIGNS USING SILVER AND DIAMONDS FROM THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20th CENTURY. THEN IS DISPLAYS THE CREATIVE TURN IN THE 1960s WITH THE EMERGENCE OF THE NEW STYLE COMBINING PRECIOUS STONES WITH RARELY USED ORIGINAL MATERIALS. THE EXHIBITION CONTINUES WITH THE ECLECTIC STYLE INSPIRED BY 1970s POP ART, THE BOLD DESIGNS OF THE 1980s AND 90s, RIGHT THROUGH TO THE SPECTACULAR DESIGNS OF THE 21st CENTURY. IN ADDITION TO THE BEJEWELED TREASURES THEMSELVES, DRAWINGS, CINEMA STILLS AND ORIGINAL ITEMS FROM PRIVATE COLLECTIONS NEVER YET PUBLICLY EXHIBITED IN FRANCE, INCLUDING BULGARI'S OWN VINTAGE COLLECTION, WILL ALSO BE ON DISPLAY. BULGARI: 125 YEARS OF ITALIAN MAGNIFICENCE WILL RUN FROM 10.DECEMBER THROUGH 12.JANUARY.2011.