Bulgari 125th Anniversary Colored Sapphire, Emerald and Mother-of-Pearl Earrings, 2009

Since its founding in 1884, Bulgari has celebrated its milestone anniversaries with special themes and a limited collection of high jewelry.

These earrings are part of the House’s 125th birthday collection. We believe these to be one-of-a-kind or of a very limited edition.

It was in the 1970s that Bulgari first used mother-of-pearl as an important design material.  By the 1980s Bulgari was deliberately mixing gemstones with materials chosen for color, surface and visual effect rather than for intrinsic value alone.

There important earrings highlight the contrast of soft iridescent relatively modest-value mother-of-pearl with the rich colors of the violet and pink sapphires and emeralds to create a design that is exceptionally rich without making the jewel visually heavy.

In these earrings, the long pale mother-of-pearl plaque provides a luminous field for the vibrant jeweled embellishment at the top of each piece. Each plaque is set into a beautiful gold framework which becomes an important part of the design. It gives the plaque structure, depth and a deliberately luxurious finished quality.

The colors of the gemstones anchoring the piece to the ear are superlative. The violet sapphire is about 4.1 carats and has not been (heat) treated. The pink sapphire weighs about 3.7 carats. The emeralds placed underneath the sapphires are Brazilian with vivid color and only minor to insignificant treatment. Bulgari selected gemstones of exceptional quality for this pair, their remarkable color and saturation integral to the strength of the design.

• 2.4 inches long
• 0.60 inches wide at the widest point
• Violet sapphire weighs approximately 4.1 carats and is not treated (AGL report)
• Pink sapphire weighs approximately 3.8 carats
• The emeralds are Brazilian with insignificant to minor enhancement (AGL report)
• Total emerald weight is approximately 4.1 carats
• Together they weigh 482 grams