Bulgari is the jeweller that perhaps, more than any other, is known for its bold and unexpected colour combinations – chromatic clashes, you may even call them – but the house’s love affair with vivid hues only began in the mid-40s and truly blossomed in the 50s.During World War II, when platinum had to be mainly used for weaponry, Western jewellers turned to yellow gold. While Bulgari’s French counterparts – based in Paris’ Place Vendôme – returned to platinum after the conflict, the Italian maison continued its predilection for yellow gold, which looks best when paired with coloured gems, Gislain Aucremanne, Bulgari’s heritage curator director, explained in an interview in Shanghai.
The immersive set-up of the exhibition. Photo: HandoutEstablished in 1884 in Rome by Sotirio Bulgari, a Greek silversmith, the house – which was acquired by luxury group LVMH in 2011 – is one of the crown jewels of Italian savoir faire. While many know Bulgari for its Greek and Roman heritage and its Serpenti snake motif, the maison is also deservedly praised as the master of colours, as an exhibition currently on view at Shanghai’s Power Station of Art illustrates in depth.
A necklace with a stunning emerald as its centrepiece. Photo: Handout
Titled “Bvlgari Kaleidos: Colors, Cultures and Crafts” and named after the Greek words kalos (beautiful) and eidos (form), the exhibition, which first debuted in Tokyo last year, celebrates the power of colours not just from an aesthetic point of view. It also tackles topics such as colour theory and the way shades ranging from red to green affect humans, both from a scientific and an emotional perspective.
Gislain Aucremanne, Bulgari’s heritage curator director, at the exhibition in Shanghai. Photo: HandoutAucremanne aptly describes Bulgari’s use of colours as “a proper language of its own”. While most jewellers have always gravitated towards classical coloured stones like rubies, sapphires and emeralds, Bulgari has never been afraid to experiment with semi-precious stones. Amethyst, topaz, garnet, rubellite and coral are just some of the gems used by the Bulgari ateliers in Rome to create painterly chromatic compositions. “I always compare Bulgari to a painter, with pigments on a palette but with gemstones,” says Aucremanne. “These colours are put together to speak to the world, create a design which is recognisable, identifiable as Bulgari, and the stones are selected because they have a soul, a certain something.”
A gold bracelet featuring a carnelian intaglio motif as its centrepiece. Photo: Handout
Displaying more than 300 items, the exhibition is divided into three chapters: The Science of Colours, Colour Symbolism and The Power of Light. Designed by Japanese architecture firm Sanaa alongside Italian design studio Formafantasma, the immersive show also features two installations by Chinese artists – Liang Manqi and Zhang Ding – who were given carte blanche to interpret the theme and offer their takes on it.