Apollonia: Architecture meets fine jewelry
©2020 by Cynthia Rutledge
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