Silver Bulgari Heritage Collection | Bvlgari Official Store

The origins and foundations of Bvlgari's artisanal mastery can be traced back to the art of silversmithing. Sotirio Bvlgari, the company’s founder, came from a family of silversmiths and, before leaving his country, he mastered his craft in his father’s workshop in Paramythia, Greece. In the very first shop he opened in Rome, on Via Sistina, he traded silver ornaments he forged himself and become popular amongst wealthy English and American tourists visiting the Eternal City.

These first creations perfectly represented the artistic and cultural stratification of the Mediterranean territories, layering sumptuous Byzantine and Middle-East-inspired foliate décors on classic Greek and Roman motifs. Featuring châtelains, buckles, girdles and necklaces, Sotirio's artifacts often depicted mythological scenes, traditional Greek emblems, male figures in armor or allegorical female figures. This wealth of cultural diversity will forever be part of the Maison’s creative ethos.

A legacy of eclectic taste and expertise in working with precious metals proved to be essential when it came to making high-end jewelry in the 1920s. Sotirio's descendants developed a passion for studying and collecting ancient silver artifacts, continuing to draw inspiration from the family's silversmithing legacy.

Over the years, the silversmithing tradition was cultivated and reinvented through the creation of refined objects, occasionally incorporating Pop Art motifs or Renaissance influences, relying on a perfect mix of years of know-how, contemporary design and unbridled creativity.