Like Cartier and Tiffany, Bulgari is one of the world's largest jewellery producers. It is established over one hundred years ago in Rome by Greek silversmith Sotirio Bulgari (1857-1932). Sotirio Voulgaris was born in 1857 in a small village in the Pindus Mountains of northern Greece. Sotirio was trained in the Voulgaris ancestor's craft and worked alongside his father in the Epirus region, further honing and perfecting his innate skills. Generations of silversmiths had passed their skills from father to son since the Byzantine era when this area was known for its exceptional silverwork. Voulgaris's family were also silversmiths who specialised in unique silver earrings, belt buckles, and sword sheaths.
In 1881, "Bulgari" was once a small jewellery store in Rome. Sotirios first opened his store in Naples before moving to Rome and permanently changing his name to Bulgari. As his business grew, he adopted the phonetic version of his Greek family name as his company's name.
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In 1932, after Sotirios Voulgaris's death, his sons Constantino and Giorgio took over the business. The 2 sons ushered in a new era for the Bulgari brand. They remodelled the store interiors to align with the wealthy and cosmopolitan air that their father had cultivated. As part of this renovation, they introduced Italian marble with pink and beige tones that would become a hallmark of future Bulgari stores.
*This is the Voulgaris family picture. Founder Sotirios Voulgaris is seen on the left. The picture was taken in Venice in 1932, a few months before his death.
In 1967, the third generation of the Voulgaris brothers took over the Bulgari business. Constantino and Giorgio updated the logo to the now-iconic BVLGARI (pronounced "BULL-gur-ee"), which used the traditional Roman alphabet instead of today's modern Latin alphabet. The brothers also established Bulgari as a preeminent fashionable and distinctive fine jewellery source.
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Throughout the 1970s, Bulgari expanded internationally, opening stores in New York City and Paris. The brand also ventured into watchmaking and debuted its trademark toboggans snake bracelet. Inspired by the snake-shaped design from the 1940s, Bulgari has produced its Serpenti line of watches in dozens of variations since the 1960s. While modern watches often use quartz movements, those from the 1960s and 1970s typically featured miniature hand-wound movements from Vacheron Constantin and Jaeger-LeCoultre.
In 1977, Bulgari hired a famed watch designer Gérald Genta to create a distinctive line of watches that would carry the Bulgari look. He designed the Bulgari watch, featuring the company's name written twice around the bezel.
Bulgari has been making a serious push into fine timepieces since 2000, when it acquired the Gérald Genta and Daniel Roth brands. The company now makes its movements specifically for its unique designs.
The Octo collection contains multiple high-complication and record-setting watches in ultra-slim watchmaking. In 2016, the was the thinnest minute repeater in the world when it was introduced.
The following year it was succeeded by the even thinner
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LVMH acquired the family-controlled Bulgari company in 2011 for an incredible USD 6 billion- (the highest amount that LVMH had ever offered for any other company). LVMH beat out Swiss luxury goods holding company Richemont and French luxury goods holding company PPR. Today, Bvlgari offers jewellery, watches, perfumes, leather goods (such as handbags and wallets), and hotel industry products and services.
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