To end the year in celebratory style, the Grand Palais opened its doors to the glamorous world of the Italian jeweller Bulgari in a superb 9-meter high décor evoking the 1,500 facets of a black diamond.
From December 10 2010 to January 12 2011, Bulgari exhibited its finest historic pieces. "125 years of Italian magnificence” looked back at the main episodes in the history of Bulgari, from the opening of the first boutique on Rome’s via Sistina in 1884 to the present day. The story is a true saga, illustrated by over 600 masterpieces of jewellery, clock and watch-making and other precious artefacts, including some one hundred exclusive items on show to the public for the first time. Some were taken from Bulgari’s Vintage collection, an outstanding historic treasure held in the company archives, while others were loaned from private collections, specially for the event. One owner was Elisabeth Taylor, of whom Richard Burton once cheekily said: "The only Italian word she knows is Bulgari”! The exhibition drew nearly 120,000 visitors.
