Frank’s Files: Bvlgari’s Serpenti 75 Years of Infinite Tales

[Music] foreign [Music] Everett and welcome to Frank styles [Music] we are downtown today Welcome to New York City's meat packing District we are here to visit a very special exhibition by Bulgari we're here to see the serpenti 75 years of infinite Tales let's get inside and see some fabulous things [Music] no now the serpent has certainly been around in jewelry design for more than 75 years think about ancient jewels of Greece and Rome and of course Egypt think about Cleopatra and all the serpent tools that she wore then fast forward to the 19th century in Victorian times Queen Victoria's own engagement ring was a serpent then we've got beautiful things for Renee Lalique around 1900 there were beautiful Art Deco Jewels By Le close however Bulgari really owns The Serpent and that all began in the 1940s with the tubigos let's get started what makes this exhibition so special is that there are 25 Heritage pieces here on loan from Rome for you to come and see so this is where it all begins with the tubigos watch first designed in the 1940s but carried on through the 50s and 60s even into the 70s this is not a literal snake it's more of inspired by a snake you can see many different versions of it it wraps two three four even five times around the wrist fits everywhere the same way nice and snug so it's almost like a one size fits all beautiful watches great for every day each one is unique and again this is where the serpenti began but let's move on to some designs where we'll see the snake become a little bit more literal [Music] here we are it's the 1960s it's Rome think La Dolce Vita think Elizabeth Taylor shooting Cleopatra in Rome she's famously shot on set wearing her beautiful Bulgari serpenti bracelet and now everybody knows about them now the serpenti really looks like a snake these two in the back from the 1960s look very similar to hers absolutely gorgeous gold and diamond versions but there are two other pieces that are quite rare that I've never seen so I want to show you those up close first is a design I've only seen in books this is a fabulous bracelet with two snakes coiled together beautiful pave Diamond heads with Ruby eyes and I just love all that gold coiling all the way around and then we have a wonderful gold evening bag we've seen these gold evening bags before but I've never seen one with a serpenti design 18 karat yellow white and rose gold with a gorgeous Diamond clasp moving on the next big innovation in the serpenti developments color in the 60s and 70s Bulgari developed beautiful colors in enamel and other materials especially for the watches this case has some incredible examples of these vintage watch designs look at the combinations I particularly love the black and white this one is gorgeous with these Coral cabochons I love them all to be honest with you but my favorite piece in this case has to be this wonderful gold and black enamel belt these are very rare very beautiful legendary Vogue editor Diana Vreeland wore her belt coiled up as a necklace it's an iconic photograph of her I hate to use the word iconic but in this case it really fits now let's take a look at some of the current High Jeweler designs of Bulgari serpenti this one in particular is fantastic look at the materials in this necklace beautiful scales covered in lapis and malachite with a central tanzanite Stone on the head of the snake very unusual materials for High jewelry absolutely gorgeous color combination and this piece really works stunning and can be worn in multiple ways you can wear it single double or wear them together absolutely beautiful this one I think is my favorite because it really traces back to the roots of the serpenti right to the tubigos design of the 1940s look at that wonderful gold tubigos all paved with diamonds and the wonderful snake it is so flexible I can only imagine how comfortable this would be to wear beautiful beautiful triple choker design absolutely stunning and now let's take a look at some of the more current offerings in Fine Jewelry the exhibition includes a wide variety of beautiful Current Designs of Fine Jewelry watches earrings necklaces even handbags one of my favorite pieces is this gorgeous serpenti palini design look at that beautiful beaded Design This one is an 18 karat rose gold so flexible it's very modern but also has a little bit of a retro feel and I love this wonderful pave Diamond Head and last but not least here is a piece near and dear to my heart you know I love a broat but I did give up my brooch addiction one time to wear this beautiful full pave Diamond Bulgari serpenti necklace I loved it maybe Bulgari will let me borrow it again [Music] and one last treat of very special art installation inspired by the Bulgari serpenti let's have a look [Music] we are inside this incredible multi-in sensory experience by artist graphique annadel the environment is just totally inspired by the transformational quality of the serpent and it even includes bulky fragrance I absolutely love it in here I hope you enjoyed our quick visit downtown there's lots more to see so please come visit this fabulous exhibition celebrating 75 years of the Bulgari serpenti it's at 70 Gansevoort Street and it's open through July 16th thanks so much for joining foreign [Music]

Channel: Sotheby's

Views: 6,548

Keywords: sothebystv

Id: JM96hFsnQRE

Length: 6min 21sec (381 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 05 2023