BULGARI JEWELRY AND WATCHES FOR AUCTION AT CHRISTIE’S TO BENEFIT SAVE THE CHILDREN
To further strengthen its support for Save the Children, Bulgari will auction an extraordinary collection of 11 one-of-a-kind jewelry creations and 7 limited edition timepieces, to be sold at auction at Christie’s New York on December 8th, 2009. The jewels’ overall value is estimated at around $ 4 million. All proceeds will be donated to Rewrite the Future, Save the Children’s worldwide campaign that aims to provide quality education for 8 million children living in conflict-affected areas.
The auction at Christie’s is part of a series of initiatives that Bulgari has organized in celebration of their 125 year anniversary. One of the highlights of the celebration will take place on May 20, when Bulgari will inaugurate their first-ever retrospective museum exhibition at the prestigious Il Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome: Bulgari “Between Eternity and History” 1884-2009, 125 years of Italian Jewels.
On the same evening Bulgari will officially present the auction collection to the public. In June, the collection will begin a tour of the world’s greatest cities, where they will be presented during a series of high-profile events; these include Shanghai, London, Los Angeles, Miami and New York.
This international tour will culminate with the New York auction in December when these 18 exquisite creations will be sold at Christie’s – the world’s leading auction house – and all proceeds will be donated to Save the Children’s Rewrite the Future campaign, which Bulgari has committed to support for the entirety of 2009.
Bulgari’s goal is to raise approximately $12,800,000 (approx. 10 million euros) before the end of 2009; they began 2009 by giving $1 million to the charity. Then in February they launched a silver ring, exclusively created to support the Rewrite the Future campaign. Available to purchase for $290 in Bulgari stores worldwide, the ring will be available until December 31, 2009. For each ring sold, $60 will go directly to the campaign.
All of the initiatives in support of the Save the Children campaign are strictly non-profit. The project has already attracted many well-known supporters, including photographer Fabrizio Ferri, Ferri has donated his time and talent creating portraits of the numerous stage, screen and music stars who have taken part in the effort.
Noteworthy among these prominent celebrities: Julianne Moore, Benicio Del Toro, Ben Stiller, Sally Field, Sting, Willem Dafoe, Rosario Fiorello, Gabriele Muccino, Jason Lewis, Andy Garcia, Valeria Golino, Isabella Rossellini and Debra Messing.
BULGARI JEWELS FOR SAVE THE CHILDREN
The exquisite jewels that make up the collection designed and crafted by Bulgari for the Christie’s auction embody the taste, the attention to detail and the quest for absolute quality that permeate every Bulgari creation, along with the sense of volume and the love of linear, symmetrical forms and details inspired by art and architecture. Certain motifs, such as the use of ancient coins mounted in gold, the serpent motif, the unusual combinations of color and materials and the generous use of colored cabochon-cut stones have become signature features of Bulgari’s creations, and they all find expression in this exclusive collection.
1 – The spectacular and brilliantly hued sapphire and diamond necklace is striking for the subtlety of its chromatic transitions and the harmonious arrangement of the gems: 169 sapphires of varying form and color totaling 400 carats form a pectoral graced by 951 brilliant-cut diamonds. The form and splendor of the piece recall the sumptuous necklaces of Egyptian times. With its harmonized variety of color and gems, this piece exemplifies Bulgari style at its finest.
2 – Cushion-cut sapphires of various hues bring this gorgeous “carpet” bracelet to life, the borders of which are delineated by a sequence of decorative elements in yellow gold illuminated by pavé diamonds.
3 – The collection is further enriched by a ring designed around a rare and seductive cabochon-cut purple star sapphire with a total weight of approximately 60 carats. Two tapered baguette cut diamonds complete the exquisite white gold setting.
4 – A design that is at once linear and sinuous characterizes this spectacular white gold necklace with diamonds totaling 84 carats. Alternating square and circular elements are linked to one another so as to form a soft and precious fabric that illuminates the neckline. This is one of Bulgari’s best-known creations, worn by Gisele Bündchen in a famous campaign shot by Fabrizio Ferri for the Lucea collection.
5/6 – A parure composed of a necklace and earrings decorated with diamonds and ruby spinels constitutes an elegant addition to the collection. White gold provides the ideal setting for five spinels that are unique in color, size and purity: more than 70 carats of gems that glow with a magnificently deep and velvety red. A weave of baguette and brilliant-cut diamonds complete the composition. In the matching earrings, a cascade of teardrop diamonds highlights the beauty of two spinels of equal rarity and depth of color.
7 – In homage to the long tradition of using ancient coins, which reflects Bulgari’s profound respect for history and a desire to keep its own cultural heritage alive, the collection includes an elegant white gold sautoir composed of a long gourmette chain decorated with silver coins. Specifically, this important piece incorporates seven Macedonian tetradrams dedicated to Alexander the Great. The large coins, approximately 2.5 centimeters in diameter, and the gorgeous yellow gold chain of curved links with rounded edges make this an unmistakably Bulgari creation, designed to be worn not only as a sautoir, but also as a parure, thanks to invisible clasps that allow it to become a choker and twin bracelets. While face of the coins depict the head of Heracles, the verso shows Zeus enthroned, scepter in hand and an eagle at his side, where there is also engraved the name of the great emperor and the dates of his reign: “Macedonia – Alexandros III 336-323 a.C.” (Macedonia – Alexander III 336-323 B.C.). The classical profiles of the coins provide a delightful contrast to the modern design of the sautoir, the refinement and vigor of which derives from the chromatic play of the different metals.
8 – The historic Parentesi motif, the module that constituted the basis of the eponymous jewelry collection created in the 1980s and inspired by the architectural history of Rome, is elevated for the first time to the status of central structural element and becomes the focal point of an exclusive cocktail ring. A large faceted rubellite, custom cut for this collet, is set in a unique claw prong made of stylized parentheses with a slightly elongated openwork structure, the result of the recent stylistic evolution undergone by this motif.
9/10/11 – Finally, the collection celebrates the 125th Anniversary of Bulgari with three exclusive serpent bracelets. Flexible and sinuous, these pieces are composed of a triple spiral decorated with polychrome enamel and semi-precious stones such as onyx and coral, with diamonds as the finishing touch.
Symbol of wisdom and eternity, the snake is a recurring motif in the history of jewelry, from Hellenism to our own day. Since the late 1940s, Bulgari’s serpentiform bracelets featuring a watch incorporated into the gem-encrusted head of the snake, have become a signature of the company and mark the beginning of Bulgari’s success in the watchmaking field. The simplification of the serpent’s form is one of the more apparent manifestations of the stylization of natural forms, which has been one of the central tenets of Bulgari’s art since the early 1970s. For these three bracelets, Bulgari has drawn from this tradition, once again reaffirming the connection with its own roots and history through new creative expressions.
Conceived exclusively for the auction, the new creations combine contemporary design with peerless craftsmanship and the highest quality materials, making each bracelet a unique work of rare value and beauty. Vivid chromatic effects characterize the refined mélanges generated by gems and enamels. In the most precious of the three, the warm subtleties of coral are enhanced by yellow gold, while in the pink gold version onyx inserts counterbalance the roseate tones of the metal and the luminosity of the diamonds. The same decorative scheme distinguishes a second variant in pink gold, wherein violet-tinged enamel guilloché is applied to the scales of the snake, whose head is finely ornamented with diamonds.
BVLGARI TIMEPIECES FOR SAVE THE CHILDREN
As testimony of Bulgari tradition and creativity, seven exemplars of fine watchmaking complete this exclusive collection.
Bulgari’s mastery in the crafting of sophisticated timepieces originated in the 1920s, and has since contributed to a significant stylistic evolution which, starting with the famous watch-bracelets in the form of a serpent of the 1940s and then finding confirmation in the 1970s with the first complete collections, has always shared a single common denominator: the insoluble union of design innovation and the world of architecture.
1/2 – It is to the founder, Sotirio Bulgari, ingenious and enterprising Greek silversmith who moved to Italy in search of fortune, that Bulgari dedicates this extraordinary watch – the Sotirio Bulgari Quantième Annuel – created expressly in celebration of the company’s 125th Anniversary. Bulgari’s passion for excellence is exemplified the exquisite form and peerless technical sophistication of this timepiece. The new model is distinguished by a 225° retrograde date display and a self-winding manufacture movement, the BVL 260 calibre, composed of 360 individual components. Bulgari will include two versions in the collection donated to the Christie’s auction, each as magnificent as the other: one in white gold, and one in pink gold.
3 – Unique style and distinctive proportions characterize the Assioma line, which uses the intersection of two signature Bulgari forms – the circle and the square – to create a truly innovative dial design. The model selected for the auction is by far the most valuable and sophisticated of the entire line: the Assioma Multicomplication Squelette, featuring a platinum case, skeletonized dial, tourbillon, perpetual calendar and GMT function (second independent time zone dial). There are only 25 of these limited edition, numbered watches in the world, and Bulgari is proud to put number 1 on auction in celebration of its 125th Anniversary.
4/5 – Architecture is, of course, one of the main inspirations behind Bulgari design, but equally important is the elegant purity of Classical art, as exemplified in the Diagono collection. From the Greek “agòn”, meaning competition, it evokes a sporting style while at the same time vaunting a great technical prowess that captures movement almost before it happens, like the Discobulus statue by Myron from which the collection draws inspiration. It is the ultimate synthesis of avantgarde and dynamic essence, a measured and uncompromising equilibrium. The first, Diagono Calibro 303, features a steel case, a bezel in white gold, a three-level manufacture dial and an engraving on the case that reads “Celebrating 125th Anniversary”, whereas the second, the Diagono Phases de Lune, is distinguished by a pink gold case, a transparent back panel and a moon phase display.
6 – Bulgari’s passion for history and tradition becomes an irresistible inspiration when it comes to designing watches for women. The result: Assioma D, a collection that evokes the allure of the 1950s, created for the kind of elegant and decisive woman that others might call a ‘diva’, from the Latin ‘dea’, or goddess. Bulgari draws from this mythological figure whose regal bearing and timeless beauty are captured in this watch, as well as in the refined, determined woman for whom it was designed. The model offered for auction is in white gold, with case, dial and bracelet studded with white brilliant-cut diamonds.
7 – Bulgari’s strong connection with its own origins and past are the inspiration for the Astrale line of fine timepieces, exquisite creations that evoke the celestial vault and the magic of the constellations. The classic purity of the circle is embellished with diamonds, an interpretation of the concept of the cosmos in a modern key. The Astrale watch on auction has a white gold case studded with 86 pavé and brilliant-cut diamonds, while the bezel hosts 177 pavé-cut diamonds. The strap is in hi-tech satin.
All seven limited edition watches offered for auction are engraved with a special inscription celebrating the 125th anniversary of Bulgari.
