In Bulgari’s Rome-based office on the banks of the Tiber River, you are unlikely to see Lucia Silvestri, the jewelry house’s creative director. The designer, who is not often found in the office environment, does most of her work sourcing gemstones for new jewels that become works of art in the hands of the brand’s craftsmen. Lucia believes that each stone expresses a person’s instincts and its energy varies according to the person. As a perfectionist, Lucia Silvestri was 18 years old when she started working in the geology department of Bulgari, the Italian high jewelry house. Before becoming a designer, she was in charge of buying gemstones, but suddenly she found herself in the chair of Bulgari’s first creative director.

“I studied biology because I was planning to become a biologist, then I got interested in geology. Precious stones are the main reason why I fell in love with jewels. When I was offered to be a part of the Bulgari
family, the company was consisting of 5 shops in total. I didn’t think much, and I just followed my heart. I was not anxious at all; I was alwayscurious and excited. I really trusted myself when I started my career at Bulgari. I was also safe about my responsibilities. Even now I find myself being excited as if I am making designs for the first time.”
Lucia Silvestri defines the first years of her career with these words. Lucia started buying gemstones for the company in the early eighties and made her first trips to Sri Lanka, India, and New York. Discovering the rich culture and history of the Far East, the designer reflected her fascination with fascinating color palettes in the jewels she would later design. India’s antiquity, the Maurya Empire, the Gupta Empire, the Mughals, and the rise of magnificent jewelry from the Mughals to the present day excited the designer. The flamboyant pieces of Bulgari’s high jewelry family owe their birth to Silvestri’s passion for India.

“I always respected the past. In fact, I always got lucky. I had the chance to work with three Bulgari brothers, who are my master and my teachers. I added my ideas to the knowledge I have gained thanks to them; I contributed to the creation of new projects, designs, and promotions.”

The famous designer unveiled the latest miracle of her years-long Bulgari adventure in June at the Italian Embassy in Paris with her new collection “Eden Garden of Wonders” high jewelry collection. The campaign for the collection, which resembles a wonderland, was presented by famous representatives of the fashion house, successful actresses Anna Hathaway, Zendaya, and Priyanka Chopra.

Lucia Silvestri admits that she likes the idea of wearing the same jewelry day and night for versatility and comfort, and recommends that every woman should have jewelry that can be transformed and
adapted to any style. The gemstones for a Bulgari high jewelry collection are sourced two to four years in advance and the process is not easy. The designer repeats an idea that the Bulgari Brothers never forgot: “I can say this was the first lesson I learned. Don’t buy a gemstone that you are not sure how you will use in the design!”

The 140-piece collection includes more than 30 creations dedicated to the emerald stone for the first time in Bulgari’s history. Nature, reinterpreted rather than imitated in the collection, offers an infinite field of imagination where craftsmanship and Bulgari’s aesthetic sense can be transformed into true works of art. With this collection, the brand, the most successful exponent of colored gemstones, reaches new heights in color experimentation, juxtaposing unique, daring yet extremely elegant pairings.

“I believe that, just as flowers, precious stones are the gift of nature… I am so lucky because I am the opposite neighbor of one of my closest friends. I think she has the most beautiful secret garden in Rome. I get my inspiration from this small but very rich garden, and this provides the creation of the jewelry I newly designed. The flower that I get my inspiration from and my favorite is the white peony. I will probably end my career at Bulgari, and this is not an ordinary story, this is my love story for my job and my art.”