Night of the Icons movie, presented by Bulgari

The Italian Jeweler is celebrating the movie with an exclusive party on the occasion of the Berlinale event. On the night of  February 14th , Bulgari hosted a glamorous party with top-class celebrities from the movie scene, the German high nobility and well-known personalities.

In addition to Princess Lilly zu Sayn Wittgenstein-Berleburg, other famous guests like Nikolai Kinski, Hannelore Elsner, Jessica Schwarz and Jürgen Vogel will be expected in the Hotel Noir in Berlin-Mitte. Brand Ambassador Princess Lilly zu Sayn Wittgenstein-Berleburg and Bulgari Managing Director Sandra Mohsni are inviting to a journey through the brand´s movie history while exhibiting iconic pieces of jewelry. All invited guests will have the unique opportunity to admire treasures of the last decades and the current Bulgari collection in the basement of the Hotel Noir in Berlin, which was specifically converted for this event. Seduction and Dolce vita atmospheres exude from the Bulgari creations from the Heritage Collection on display for the occasion of Berlinale. One of the highlights is the celebrated Serpenti motif, born at the end of 1940s with sinuous bracelet-watches that over the decades asserted themselves as messengers of Bulgari's cultural roots and glamour. As years went by, eclectic reinterpretations in tune with major trends and prestigious endorsements consolidated their status of brand icons.

The Serpenti creations on display for Berlinale - a bracelet watch and a necklace -  exemplify the more realistic takes on the snake Bulgari introduced in the 1960s: the body is designed as alternate rows of scales is decorated with brilliant-cut diamonds and guilloché polychrome enamel while in the bracelet-watch the timepiece  is concealed in the snake head. This kind of Serpenti "mysterious watch" was favored by prestigious endorsers like Elizabeth Taylor, who could not resist to wear on the set of Cleopatra  her own Serpenti bracelet-watch Bulgari created  especially for her, featuring  the head encrusted by marquise and brilliant cut diamonds and the eyes lit by magnetic emeralds.  Two brooches with cabochon emeralds and sapphires feature the harmonious "shield" shape favored by Anita Ekberg.

The cabochon cut, nowadays a Bulgari hallmark, was adopted by the Maison since the early 1930s, a very unconventional choice considering that the use of faceted stones was predominant at that time and the cabochon cut was usually reserved to stones of lower value. Evoking the cupolas that punctuate the Roman landscapes, the cabochon cut allowed Bulgari to provide a unique sense of volume while also highlighting the vibrant chromatic hues of the stones. Finally, a parure with necklace and earrings in gold and platinum with rubies, emeralds, sapphires and diamonds from 1959 exemplifies the groundbreaking color combinations Bulgari introduced since late 1950s, when the current practice favored the use of only one colored stone paired with diamonds. Bulgari's chromatic juxtapositions started with sapphires - pale blue sapphire and dark blue sapphires at first, to be followed soon by the entire hues spectrum of sapphires - to become increasingly daring over the years.

The combination of rubies, emeralds and sapphire is among the most favored one by the Maison as well as by celebrities like actress Claudia Cardinale, who wore a necklace very similar to this one for a shooting made for Vogue Italy in 1966: "an explosion of lights for a triumphant beauty" recited the enthusiastic picture caption  that accompanied the article.