A New Bulgari Collection, Brought to Life by the Brand’s Real Life Next Generation
Bulgari has a family saga so rich it inspired us to plot an original jewelry fable for the ages: Lights! Camera! Action!
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I am Rubelite
INT. An Ornate Bedroom in Milan’s Famed Villa Necchi — EVENING
A stormy night in a ritzy neighborhood. The elegant heiress MARIA-STELLA GAMBARELLA, lavishly attired in evening finery fit for Visconti, accessorized with Bulgari’s Serpenti Metamorphosis necklace, sits on her daughter’s bed. EMMA (eight years old, adorably precocious), in a pair of yellow pajamas, wants to stay up.
EMMA
Oh Mamma, before you go to the party, tell me about your necklace again.
MARIA-STELLA
I’ve told you this story so many times!
EMMA
But I love it so much. Please?
MARIA-STELLA
Okay. If you promise not to give your sister any trouble when Papà and I go out. (beat) As you know, we come from a family that loved jewelry.
EMMA
And we still love jewelry in this family, don’t we?
MARIA-STELLA
Certo, we do, my darling. That you can be sure of. But your great-grandmother Elena, her sister Beatrice, and their brother Edoardo—they were triplets—loved jewelry like no one in the world. They were the chicest family in all of Italy. They also loved parties.
EMMA
Am I as glamorous as they were?
MARIA-STELLA
Maybe one day you will be. It takes time to develop style. But you are very fashionable. Even your tie-dyed Crocs! This—the Villa Necchi—was their home. Look how beautifully they decorated it. Isn’t it perfect?
EMMA
It’s a bit grand for me, and this bedroom is also so big. And it’s a little bit scary with all that lightning and thunder. Are you sure you need to go out?
MARIA-STELLA
Yes, but isn’t it magical to hear the drip, drip, drip coming from outside? -Edoardo had a ring. It was blue. He liked to call it Liquid Sapphire.
EMMA
It looked just like a waterfall, right?
MARIA-STELLA
Eccola!
EMMA
And tell me again about the ruby ring! They called it a Pigeon Blood ruby, even though—
MARIA-STELLA
It had absolutely nothing to do with a pigeon.
EMMA
I know! Red is my favorite color. Maybe even Pigeon Blood red. It was just so perfect. So deep red.
MARIA-STELLA
Elena, Beatrice, and Edoardo collected all kinds of magical gems over the years. What belonged to one of them belonged to all of them. They guarded these jewels with their lives, and each year on their birthdays they would throw an unbelievable party. There would be fire--eaters and acrobats and princesses and lions and tigers just walking around. Each year Elena, Beatrice, and Edoardo would look closely at their collection and choose a new piece to wear for this most important party in all the land.
EMMA
I wish I could go to that party so badly.
MARIA-STELLA
There was one thing they loved more than anything, which was snakes.
EMMA
Is it weird to love snakes?
MARIA-STELLA
It’s not! Snakes represent eternal life.
EMMA
Were they so obsessed with eternal life because they were vampires? I’ve seen pictures of them, and they kind of look like vampires.
MARIA-STELLA
Oh, tesoro. You know there are no such things as vampires! Everyone thinks they want to live forever, and jewelry is one of those things that can outlast us. Jewelry connects us to our past. And guess where they kept all their precious jewelry?
EMMA
(nearly asleep)
Where?
MARIA-STELLA
Right in this room. All your ancestors are here, watching over and protecting you. And when you’re -diciotto, you will get to choose your favorite piece to have for the rest of your life.
EMMA
But I’m only otto. Well, otto and a half.
MARIA-STELLA
(chuckling at her daughter’s unintended Fellini reference)
Yes, you are. I chose the Serpenti necklace. What will you choose? It represented the circle of life. My connection to all of them—and my connection to you and your sister. One day, I hope I can—
EMMA
Oh Mamma, I’m tired. Go to your party already!
MARIA-STELLA
—give it to you.
(Maria-Stella kisses her daughter on the forehead.)
EMMA
I think maybe I just want a Lego.
Hair by Leon Gorman @blendmanagement. Makeup by Arianna Campa @blendmanagement. Nails by Elena Greco @-blendmanagement. Model: Ryu Usuda, @bravemodels. Production by Annapia Lorenzi and D’Aria SRL
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