Inside Bulgari’s star-studded launch of the Mediterranea high jewellery collection in Venice

Magnificent Mediterranean

As befitting the splendid creations, Bulgari’s Mediterranea collection was unveiled to an exclusive group of media, including Tatler Singapore, and VIPs invited from around the world with Venice as the awe‑inspiring backdrop. Such grand‑scale events are an annual occurrence for the brand, which launches a new high jewellery collection, typically in a different city, each year. But many, such as Mauro Di Roberto, managing director of Bulgari’s jewellery business unit, deem it “the best [Bulgari] has ever done”.

On the morning of the launch, a light rain returned but fortunately stopped just before sunset, leaving the streets of Venice softly aglow with reflections of lights from surrounding boats and docks. As popular a tourist destination as it is—especially in summer—Venice’s lack of roads makes it a lot quieter than most cities, and allows for a perpetual sense of calm and romance, especially as night falls.

To the sound of water lapping in the canals and echoing through the narrow alleyways, or calli in Italian, we made our way to the jewellery show and gala dinner venue, keen to savour the dreamy atmosphere; hastening our steps as the temperature dropped and the moon started to peek out from behind the clouds. In a few minutes, we arrived at our magnificent destination—the city’s storied Palazzo Ducale—where our magical evening with Bulgari began.

Stepping into the grand, Gothic‑style palace in Piazza San Marco that overlooks the lagoon was an experience in itself; Palazzo Ducale is a sight to behold with its colonnades and marble arches—certainly a fitting former residence of the Doge of Venice, the main elected leader of the Venetian Republic.

We were seated along the length of the palace’s courtyard‑facing balcony, or loggia, for the private show, together with celebrities and Bulgari’s brand ambassadors, Lisa of K‑pop group Blackpink, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Liu Yifei, Hikari Mori and Yang Yang.

The stars were, of course, decked out in Bulgari jewels. Hathaway dazzled in a stunning necklace from the new collection, made in pink gold and set with six oval cabochon pink tourmalines surrounded by diamonds. Fellow Hollywood actress Zendaya, who often wears Serpenti creations, did not disappoint in an off‑shoulder gown that showed off the bold Serpenti piece around her neck, crafted in white gold and set with yellow diamonds, white diamonds and emeralds.

Eternal Beauty

On an exquisite mosaic runway, hand‑crafted in hues of the Mediterranean by traditional Venetian glass manufacturer Orsoni Venezia 1888 for the event, models, including Stella Maxwell, Blesnya Minher and Eva Herzigová, strutted out to the swells of the orchestral soundtrack created by Italian orchestra conductor Beatrice Venezi, showcasing more than 400 high jewellery masterpieces. Herzigová closed the show wearing one of the star creations from the new collection: the Muse of Rome white gold necklace fully decked in emeralds and diamonds, and  bearing a jaw‑dropping 218.53‑carat sugarloaf Colombian emerald at its centre. Thanks to a unique structure that allows the central sugarloaf emerald pendant to be detached, the necklace can be worn with or without the central stone, and also comes with an additional emerald bead and South Sea pearl sautoir that the pendant can be worn on.

It is a masterpiece that Di Roberto believes encapsulates the complexities of Bulgari’s craftsmanship expertise. “This is a unique stone not only because it’s huge, but more because it’s cut in such a way—cabochon sugarloaf, a typical cut representing Bulgari’s DNA—with a beautiful colour and quality as well as few inclusions,” he says. “The best way to emphasise the beauty of this stone is to mount it as we’ve done, and to keep it as clean and free as possible. When we frame it this way, we maximise the beauty and the radiance of the colour of the stone. To me, that’s an important sign of maturity when it comes to creating a product; not to overdo it.”

Another notable piece in the collection is the Mediterranean Muse necklace, which sings of the Mediterranean Sea with its dynamic drop layout of gems in shades of blue—aquamarines and sapphires—and glittering diamonds that evoke undulating waves. Seeing this creation, along with the rest of the Mediterranea high jewellery collection up close the next day at the Palazzo Soranzo Van Axel, a 15th‑century Gothic palace in Venice, was another sensational experience.

Set across two floors of the historic building, the private exhibition of the Mediterranea high jewellery collection was divided into spaces embodying each of the three sub‑themes. In collaboration with Venetian luxury textile company Rubelli, each space had been decorated with a fabric with a signature mosaic pattern in different colour combinations.

The specific themes of each space were further brought to life through the work of various Venetian manufacturers and creatives that Bulgari worked with, such as the prestigious Venetian glassmaker Venini and its artistic director Marco Piva, who created a resplendent blue modular glass sculpture spanning nearly the entire height of the room, inspired by the brand’s Tazebao chandelier. Catching the natural light flooding in through the windows, the sculpture immediately drew attention to the Mediterranean Muse necklace it was set behind, complementing its hues of blue and texture that mimicked dappled light on water.

This intimate, immersive experience with Bulgari’s jewels was a celebration of the creativity and craftsmanship so central to the Roman jeweller as it constantly looks to both the past and present, combining heritage and innovation in each of its creations. Mediterranea is not only a magnificent collection of high jewellery, but also one that captures the vibrant, multifaceted spirit of the house, its rich history, as well as its love and appreciation for the unique, diverse cultures that have become a part of its story.

Click through the gallery below to view more pieces from the Mediterranea collection.

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