Classic and modern, that is what Bvlgari is – a brand that has been the embodiment of beauty, elegance, and Italian style for more than 130 years. Thanks to its high-quality jewelry, watches, perfumes, leather products, and accessories, Bvlgari is becoming a synonym for luxury. With hundreds of shops, hotels, and resorts around the world, today, nothing resembles humble beginnings, when one of the most famous brands emerged from the small goldsmith shop of the diligent Greek Sotirios Voulgaris.
Sotirios Voulgaris was born in 1857 in the Greek region of Epirus, as one of the eleven children of Georgios Voulgaris and Eleni Strongaris. At the age of twenty-two, a few cents in his pocket and a huge desire for a better life, Sotirios went to Rome, where he sold silver items in front of the French Academy on Pinci. Very quickly, a Greek merchant offered him a part of the shop window, in his shop on Via Sistina, to exhibit his products. Customers were delighted, so in 1884, Sotirios opened his own jewelry store on the same street. Through hard work, genuine passion, and professionalism, he popularizes his brand by opening new stores throughout Italy.
The exclusive store in Via Dei Condotti, the famous street leading to the Spanish Steps, opened in 1905, was both home and a source of inspiration for a small trumpet-shaped ring called Trombino, which was one of the best-selling in Rome and Paris for a decade.
At the age of 75 (1932), Sotirios died, leaving a vast legacy to his two sons, Giorgio and Constantino. The BVLGARI logo, as we know it today, first used in 1934, became a symbol of the Bvlgari gem. The “unique beauty within the stone” as various combinations of rubies, emeralds, and sapphires are most commonly called, formed the heart of the design of each piece of jewelry.
During the “Dolce Vita” (50’s and 60’s), the street shop Via Dei Condotti hosted the world’s elite of artists, writers, and actors. Stars like: Marlen Dietrich, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Sophia Loren, Romy Schneider, Gina Lollobrigida, were frequent visitors to Bvlgari stores. The famous couple, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton sealed their love with an 18.61 carat emerald ring surrounded by pear-shaped diamonds, which this movie diva wore on her wedding day. At the awarding of the first Oscar for the film “Butterfield 8”, Taylor again wore Bvlgari. Richard Burton once joked that the only Italian word his wife knew was – Bvlgari!
They also created unique gems for Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall, Sharon Stone, Charlize Theron, Angelina Jolie, and many other stars.
Giorgio’s son Gianni, who has run the company for almost 25 years since 1966, ushered this house into an era of global expansion by opening Bvlgari stores in the most prominent malls: New York, Geneva, Monte Carlo, and Paris. Yellow gold in jewelry became a trademark of the company, and in 1975 the first Bvlgari watch was launched.
Between 1997 and 2003, they saw a 150 percent increase in over 230 of their stores worldwide. In 2014, Bvlgari celebrated its 130th anniversary, and in 2017, a new jewelry production facility was opened in Valens, the largest in Europe, with a total area of 14,000 square meters. With over four thousand employees worldwide and a billion dollars in net income, BVLGARI is today a global icon without borders.
The company occasionally collaborates with other brands. For example, Bvlgari glasses were created under a license agreement with Luxottica, and in 2001 a joint venture was established with Marriott International to launch the hotel brand – Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts opened in resorts around the world.
Bvlgari has won over audiences around the world not only with fantastic but unaffordable jewelry but also with fantastic but affordable perfume creations that exude a unique, reduced elegance and subtle eroticism.
The first of over a hundred perfumes, Bvlgari Eau Parfumee au The Vert, from 1992, announced an exciting new chapter in the glittering history of Bvlgari. Eau Parfumee Au The Vert takes the most beautiful essences of green tea, mixing citrus notes into a fragrant combination that is fresh, gentle, and sweet at the same time. Jean-Claude Ellena is behind this perfume, which many describe as “a vital expression of refined elegance that awakens the senses”. It is interesting that this fragrance when it appeared, served as an exclusive gift the house gave to its most esteemed jewelry buyers.
Bvlgari Pour Femme is an elegant, glamorous, and sensual women’s perfume that was made by the phenomenal Sofia Grojsman. Top notes include essential oils of carnation, coriander, raspberry, peach, and bergamot, while the heart is a combination of jasmine, iris root, heliotrope and lily of the valley. The final accords belong to amber, sandalwood, and musk. Supermodel Kate Moss was the face of the campaign. Bvlgari Pour Femme was first launched in 1994, before appearing in 2006 in a new, more luxurious edition.
The ultra-gorgeous Le Gemme collection was signed by Daniela Andrier. Inspired by the colors of the stones, her every perfume is an anthem of color, light, and emotion.
And the Omnia collection – with its unique “link” bottle, offers fragrances inspired by semi-precious stones. Omnia Crystalline is a feminine, subtle, and sensual fragrance, inspired by the perfection of the crystal. Top notes of this fragrance are bamboo and Asian pear nashi, the heart is a lotus, and the base is composed of woody notes. This collection of perfumes is the result of the work of Albert Morillas, and although it appeared on the market back in 2005, this is still one of the best-selling Bvlgari perfumes for ladies.
Celebrating its 130th anniversary, in 2014, Bvlgari presents to the public Opera Prima, the most expensive fragrance in the history of perfumery. Combining the art of jewelry making and perfume making, Opera Prima was once exhibited at the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann department store in Paris. Daniela Andrier also signs this fragrant celebration of Mediterranean tones of lemon, orange, musk, and flowers. The precious bottle in the shape of a Roman amphora, decorated with 250 carats of citrine, 4.55 carats of amethyst, and 25 carats of diamonds, was bought by a private client in January 2018 for the sum of an incredible 200,000 euros.
Many Bvlgari fragrances have been created in collaboration with famous perfumers such as: Annick Menardo, Albert Morillas, Jacques Cavallier, Sophie Grojsman, Beatrice Piquet, Carlos Benaim, Daniel Roche Andrier, Nathalie Lorson, Olivier Polge, Carlos Benaim, Sophie Lablena, and Jean-Claude Ellena, creating new, unmistakable fragrant compositions for this house.
Master perfumer Alberto Morillas brought his magic into fragrant combinations by creating a brilliantly sensual Goldea, inspired by gold and light. “Goddess of Gold” is released in October 2015 and, after ten years since Omnia, represents the beginning of the new collection. The perfume opens with notes of musk, orange blossom, raspberry, and bergamot. The heart features jasmine and ylang-ylang, while the base consists of accords of white musk, amber, patchouli, and Egyptian papyrus. After the great success of Goldea perfume, in July 2016, the feminine and seductive Rose Goldea was presented to the public, whose beauty of fragrance is reflected in the softness and subtlety of rose petals. Alberto Morillas gives the feminine composition an irresistible scent of pomegranate combined with aromas of rose and jasmine.
Morillas has also created many fragrances in a growing portfolio of men’s fragrances. Bvlgari Pour Homme, introduced in 2001, is a sophisticated and seductive eau de toilette for men made on contrasts that unite in unexpected harmony. Pour Homme is a fresh, woody and spicy fragrance with top notes of ginger and cardamom, at the heart of the composition are tobacco, ginkgo, spruce, while the base consists of sandalwood, musk, and cedar.
Bvlgari Man was introduced in June 2010, and the face of the campaign was British actor Clive Owen. This modern, versatile and characteristic fragrance, which belongs to the group of oriental-woody scents, opens with notes of bergamot, lotus, and violet leaves. The heart is a mixture of sandalwood, vetiver, and woody notes, and the final accords of the composition come from honey, amber, musk, cashmere, and benzoin.
The philosophy of the new fragrance, launched in 2018 as part of the Bvlgari Men collection, is based on a balance of urban life and pristine nature. The composition Man Wood Essence combines woody notes – tree bark, resin, and essences – with spicy accords. Italian citrus, together with coriander leaves, give a fresh, green character to the intense woody composition that includes accords of cypress, vetiver, and cedar based on benzoin.
Speaking about how much Bvlgari fragrances are worth in the world of perfumery, Morillas says:
To combine modernity and tradition – that is Bvlgari. Whether it’s men or women, every time you go to explore BLV perfumes, it turns out that there are real gems in front of you… and that is art.
List of Bvlgari perfumes. Links to reviews are marked in blue.
- Absolute Blu (2002)
- Aqua Amara (2014)
- Aqua pour Homme (2005)
- Aqua pour Homme Limitee (2007)
- Aqua Divina (2015)
- Aqua pour Homme Atlantique (2017)
- Aqua pour Homme Marine (2008)
- Aqua pour Homme Marine Toniq (2011)
- Aqua pour Homme Toniq (2011)
- Black (1998)
- Blu (2000)
- Blu Absolute (2002)
- Blu Eau d’Été (2010)
- Blu Eau de Parfum (2009)
- Blu II (2009)
- Blu Notte (2004)
- Blu Notte pour Femme (2004)
- Blu Notte pour Homme (2004)
- Blu pour Homme (2001)
- Bulgari Extreme (1999)
- Bulgari Aqua Divina (2015)
- Bulgari Man (2010)
- Bulgari Man Black Cologne (2016)
- Bulgari Man Black Orient (2016)
- Bulgari Man Extreme (2013)
- Bulgari Man Extreme All Black Editions (2015)
- Bulgari Man in Black (2014)
- Bulgari Man in Black Essence (2017)
- Bulgari Man The Silver Limited Edition (2011)
- Bulgari Man Wood Essence(2018)
- Bulgari Man Wood Neroli (2019)
- Bulgari Petits et Mamans (1998)
- Bulgari pour Femme (1994)
- Bulgari pour Homme (1995)
- Bulgari pour Homme Extrême (1999)
- Bulgari pour Homme Soir (2006)
- Bulgari Rose Essentielle Eau De Toilette Rosee (2007)
- Eau Fraîche (1994)
- Eau Parfumée au Thé Blanc (2003)
- Eau Parfumée au Thé Bleu (2015)
- Eau Parfumée au Thé Noir (2015)
- Eau Parfumée au Thé Noir Intense (2018)
- Eau Parfumée au Thé Rouge (2005)
- Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert (1993)
- Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert Extrême (2000)
- Goldea (2015)
- Goldea : The Roman Night (2017)
- Goldea : The Roman Night Absolute (2018)
- Rose Goldea (2016)
- Rose Goldea Bloosom Delight (2019)
- Rose Goldea jacky Tsai Edition (2018)
- Jasmin Noir (2008)
- Jasmin Noir L’Elixir (2012)
- Jasmin Noir L’Essence (2011)
- Le Gemme Collezione Murano: Murano Amarena (2018)
- Le Gemme Collezione Murano: Murano Calaluna (2018)
- Le Gemme Collezione Murano: Murano Lazulia (2018)
- Le Gemme Collezione Murano: Murano Noorah (2018)
- Le Gemme Collezione Murano: Murano Selimah (2018)
- Le Gemme Collezione Murano: Murano Zahira (2018)
- Le Gemme : Amarena (2014)
- Le Gemme : Ambero (2016)
- Le Gemme : Ashlemah (2014)
- Le Gemme : Calaluna (2014)
- Le Gemme : Coralia (2019)
- Le Gemme : Erea (2020)
- Le Gemme : Falkar (2019)
- Le Gemme : Garanat (2016)
- Le Gemme : Gyan (2016)
- Le Gemme : Lilaia (2014)
- Le Gemme : Malakeos (2016)
- Le Gemme : Maravilla (2014)
- Le Gemme : Noorah (2014)
- Le Gemme : Onekh (2016)
- Le Gemme : Opalon (2019)
- Le Gemme : Tygar (2016)
- Le Gemme : Yasep (2019)
- Le Gemme Imperiali : Desiria (2016)
- Le Gemme Imperiali : Irina (2016)
- Le Gemme Imperiali : Splendia (2016)
- Le Gemme Orientali : Lazulia (2015)
- Le Gemme Orientali : Selima (2015)
- Le Gemme Orientali : Zahira (2015)
- Le Gemme Reali : Nylaia (2018)
- Le Gemme Reali : Rubinia (2018)
- Le Gemme Reali : Veridia (2018)
- Le Gemme Man: Ambero (2016)
- Le Gemme Man: Garanat (2016)
- Le Gemme Man: Gyan (2016)
- Le Gemme Man: Kobraa (2016)
- Le Gemme Man: Malakeos (2016)
- Le Gemme Man: Onekh (2016)
- Le Gemme Man: Tygar (2016)
- Le Gemme Man – Musk Trilogy: Falkar (2019)
- Le Gemme Man – Musk Trilogy: Opalon (2019)
- Le Gemme Man – Musk Trilogy: Yasep (2019)
- Mon Jasmin Noir (2011)
- Mon Jasmin Noir L’Eau Exquise (2012)
- Mon Jasmin Noir L’Elixir (2012)
- Omnia (2003)
- Omnia Amethyste (2007)
- Omnia Coral (2012)
- Omnia Crystalline (2005)
- Omnia Crystalline Eau de Parfum (2013)
- Omnia Golden Citrine (2020)
- Omnia Green Jade (2008)
- Omnia Indian Garnet (2014)
- Omnia Paraiba (2015)
- Omnia Pink Sapphire (2018)
- Opera Prima (2014)
- Rose Essentielle (2005)
- Rose Goldea (2016)
- Petits et Mamans (1997)
- Rose Goldea Blossom Delight(2019)
- Splendida iris d’Or (2017)
- Splendida Jasmin Noir (2017)
- Splendida Magnolia Sensuel (2018)
- Splendida Rose Rose (2017)
- Splendida Tubereuse Mystique (2019)
- Voile de Jasmin (2006)
