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 Born
in 1857, Sotirio Bulgari hailed from a small village in northern
Greece. For generations this area was known for its exceptional
silversmith art, a refined skill that had been passed from father
to son since the Byzantine Era.
Bulgari moved
his family to Rome and opened his first jewelry store in 1884.
The store quickly built its reputation for luxurious, exceptionally
well-crafted Greek and Roman-inspired jewelry designs.
As part of a
renovation in the 1930's, the logo was updated to Bvlgari, which
used the traditional Roman alphabet. WWII played a big part in
the transition of materials used for their designs, moving from
silver to gold was just one of the many adjustments that the
brothers at the helm of Bvlgari had to conquer, placing the jewelry
house into the high jewelry market.
Bvlgari's vison
of beauty always begins with Rome itself. Architectural designs,
along with colored stones, draw from the cities' ancient mosaics
and gems, polished like the smooth surfaces of its epic marble
sculptures. Each creation echoes Rome's timeless art and exuberant
spirit.
 Apollonia
is inspired by Bvlgari's masterful use of Roman architecture
as a muse. In this case, I am using the imagery of the Italian
baroque ceiling from The Palazzo dei Penitenzieri in Rome.
This set consists
of a pair of earrings and a necklace. The main components are
cubic right-angle weave (CRAW) and peyote stitch bezeled pear
CZs using seed beads and fire polish beads. Three 6mm CZs are
bezeled and attached to the bottom of the pear bezels for interest.
For the earrings, an embellished pearl cabochon component hides
the earring post and clutch. Dramatic to say the least! The necklace
has the same center component attached to a light and airy right-angle
weave (RAW) variation chain, ending in two beaded pearl buttons
and connector.
Skill level:
Intermediate
to advanced. Students must be comfortable with CRAW, RAW and
peyote stitch.
Workshop length: This is a one-day workshop
Dimensions:
Earrings: 2 ¾ inches long from the top
of the pearl bezel to the bottom 6mm bezel, by 7/8 inches wide
at the widest point of the pear CZ bezel.
Necklace: The center component is 2 inches long by 7/8
inches wide at the widest point of the pear CZ. The chain is
3/8 inches wide by desired length ending with two, 5/8 inch wide
beaded buttons.
Techniques:
Cubic right-angle weave (CRAW)
Craw to peyote variation
Right-angle weave variation
Stitching-in the-ditch
Tubular even-count peyote stitch with decreasing
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