Exploring the fantasy world of fragrance with Bulgari
Scent, like stories, can oft blur the lines between reality and fantasy. Finding ‘The One’ that you go back to time and time again is a multi-sensory experience – it can be a portal into the past, the future and unknown distant worlds.
Celebrating 25 years of fragrance, Bulgari’s book, The Perfume of Gems explores the powerful link between the Maison’s perfume and jewellery collections. “Born of the earth, they are alive, mercurial, changing from moment to moment,” Bulgari says. “Totally transformed by a particular angle or ray of light.”
“Likewise, olfactory gems are their own perfect jewels. Harmonious but unexpected, a testament to the sublime and complete beauty found in nature.”
The Perfume of Gems is an culmination of many creative forces and visions, who aim to trace the origins of Bulgari’s precious perfumes back to the ancient gems and spice trails and to Bulgari’s fine jewelry tradition, which is deeply rooted in Roman tradition.
Editor Simone Marchetti invites the reader to embark on a “rite of initiation requiring you to trust your emotions and intuition above and beyond knowledge, skills and traditions.” The anthropologist and philosopher Annick Le Guérer draws on her expertise to weave a fascinating tapestry of cultural references linking natural gems, precious stones and mankind. Images captured by photographer Michal Pudelka underline the outsized role that colour plays in Bulgari creations.
Other contributors include composer and experimental musician Brian Eno, Roman author Chiara Gamberale, biologist Renato Bruni and illustrator Luigi Serafini. Step inside the fantasy world of fragrance…
‘Bulgari: The Perfume of Gems’,€150, is out now, published by Rizzoli. Find out more here.
