Years of experimentation, provocation and hope, the ‘70s brought a great variety of motifs . Bulgari’s design relied at times on the use of angular forms, vibrant colours, oval elements adorned with cabochons, gold settings with diamonds occasionally with calibrated gemstones, and heavy gold chains with rounded flattened links.
These elements were deployed in countless variations in all forms of jewellery and in particular in sautoirs, which lent themselves especially well to the maxi fashion of the time.
The sources of inspiration were very diverse. Bulgari turned to the art of India and brought back into vogue large cabochon or carved emeralds of 17th-century Indian Mughal tradition. The lotus flower motif, very popular in Egyptian ancient art, was reinterpreted in a wide range of creations featuring vivacious colour combinations.
Far Eastern influence also shaped a brooch with a view of Mount Fuji as well as the sautoirs with a miniature statue of Buddha as a pendant.
In tune with the Pop Art spirit, everyday objects like playing cards or ice creams were turned into playful jewels.
Following the Company expansion in the U.S.A. with the opening of a shop inside the Pierre Hotel in New York in 1973, a line called Star Spangled Banner evoked the colors of the American flag using red and blue enamel or lapis lazuli.
Playing with shapes and colors, “optical” jewels used to repeat geometrical motifs alternating two or three shades. Another remarkable aspect of this period was the predilection for yellow gold as tool to convey the concept of wearable jewelry, then become a Bulgari hallmark. According to this idea, yellow gold allowed even the most valuable jewels to be worn in a most informal manner, no more confined to great occasions.