Bvlgari

Vincent Meylan writes the history and royalty pages for the French women’s weekly Point de Vue. He is also a specialist in precious stones and in haute joaillerie, and the author of several biographies and works on the history of precious stones, including Queens’ Jewels (Assouline, 2005), Boucheron: The Secret Archives (ACC, 2011), Van Cleef & Arpels: Treasures and Legends (ACC, 2014) and Christie’s: The Jewellery Archives Revealed (ACC 2016).

Vincent Meylan

A jewel is more than an arrangement of precious stones – it is a story. This is the principle on which Vincent Meylan, author of Christie’s: The Jewellery Archives Revealed, Boucheron: The Secret Archives and Van Cleef & Arpels: Treasures and Legends, has written his latest book. Now, with unparalleled access to the Bulgari archives, Meylan guides us on an intimate journey through the lives of the clients, both famous and infamous, who have given this pre-eminent Mediterranean jeweller their patronage.

Paris may be the traditional home of the jewellery elite, but Bulgari embraces its Roman origins.

From their early creations in platinum and diamonds still reflecting the Parisian school of jewellery, to designs like the Trombino ring and Serpenti bracelets, which are still relevant today, Bulgari gracefully navigates the line between contemporary and timeless to affirm a genuine and colourful Italian style.

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TREASURES OF ROME

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TREASURES OF ROME

Their client roster reflects their prestige. Nobility and celebrity intermingle; the Countess di Frasso shopped at Bulgari with her Hollywood superstar-beau, Gary Cooper, as did the Infanta Beatriz of Spain and Princess Maria José of Belgium. Richard Burton wooed Elizabeth Taylor with glittering Bulgari jewels, while the decadent marriage of Tyrone Power and Linda Christian featured Bulgari wedding rings. But these jewels tell tales of many genres, not just romance: from exiled Iranian Shahs to Count Cini of Monselice, held for ransom by the SS and released in exchange for Bulgari jewels.

Each story is retold with Vincent Meylan’s charac­ teristic verve, embellished with original pictures from the archives. Chapters are dedicated to wealthy customers, but also to the stones themselves, tracing the evolution of this iconic Roman company through history, and the development of their jewellery from mine, to workshop, to model.

ISBN: 978-1-85149-879-6

Vincent Meylan

ËxHSLIPBy498796zv;:*:;:!:! £55.00/$95.00

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Contents Chapter 1:

The woman who wanted to kill Mussolini 9 Dorothy di Frasso (1888-1954) 11

Chapter 2:

The Wedding of a Spanish Princess Beatriz de Bourbon, Princess of Civitella-Cesi (1909-2002) 1930 The Royal Year

Chapter 3:

Count Cini’s Ransom 67 Vittorio Cini (1885-1977) and Giuseppe Volpi (1877-1947) 69

Chapter 4:

A Splash of Diamonds

89

Chapter 5:

The Lovers of Via Dei Condotti Tyrone Power and Linda Christian Ingrid Bergman, Roberto Rossellini and Anna Magnani’s spaghetti Shah of Iran and Soraya’s Roman Holiday

109 111 121 133

Chapter 6:

The Chamber of Treasures

151

Chapter 7:

Hollywood on the Tiber 167 Clare Boothe Luce (1903-1987) 169

Chapter 8:

The Queen of New York’s Emeralds

Chapter 9:

Another Roman Wedding 209 Olimpia Torlonia and Paul-Annik Weiller 211 Flower jewellery from Bulgari 223

45 47 59

191

Chapter 10: American Dream 229 Nancy Reagan’s bejewelled Stars and Stripes 231 Chapter 11: Diamonds of the Dolce Vita

245

Chapter 12: The Land of Sapphires, Bulgari in Sri Lanka A Treasure Trove of Precious Gems

265 269

Bulgari Family Genealogy 284 Bulgari Timeline 286 Acknowledgements 289 Image Credits 290 Index 291

6

7

Contents Chapter 1:

The woman who wanted to kill Mussolini 9 Dorothy di Frasso (1888-1954) 11

Chapter 2:

The Wedding of a Spanish Princess Beatriz de Bourbon, Princess of Civitella-Cesi (1909-2002) 1930 The Royal Year

Chapter 3:

Count Cini’s Ransom 67 Vittorio Cini (1885-1977) and Giuseppe Volpi (1877-1947) 69

Chapter 4:

A Splash of Diamonds

89

Chapter 5:

The Lovers of Via Dei Condotti Tyrone Power and Linda Christian Ingrid Bergman, Roberto Rossellini and Anna Magnani’s spaghetti Shah of Iran and Soraya’s Roman Holiday

109 111 121 133

Chapter 6:

The Chamber of Treasures

151

Chapter 7:

Hollywood on the Tiber 167 Clare Boothe Luce (1903-1987) 169

Chapter 8:

The Queen of New York’s Emeralds

Chapter 9:

Another Roman Wedding 209 Olimpia Torlonia and Paul-Annik Weiller 211 Flower jewellery from Bulgari 223

45 47 59

191

Chapter 10: American Dream 229 Nancy Reagan’s bejewelled Stars and Stripes 231 Chapter 11: Diamonds of the Dolce Vita

245

Chapter 12: The Land of Sapphires, Bulgari in Sri Lanka A Treasure Trove of Precious Gems

265 269

Bulgari Family Genealogy 284 Bulgari Timeline 286 Acknowledgements 289 Image Credits 290 Index 291

6

7

Above: The Renaissance gallery on the ground floor of Villa Madama in Rome, where Dorothy di Frasso gave her fabulous parties in the 1930s. Facing page: Bulgari sapphire and diamond sautoir from the 1930s, which was sold by Christie’s Geneva, 2012.

14

15

Above: The Renaissance gallery on the ground floor of Villa Madama in Rome, where Dorothy di Frasso gave her fabulous parties in the 1930s. Facing page: Bulgari sapphire and diamond sautoir from the 1930s, which was sold by Christie’s Geneva, 2012.

14

15

Above:1930s ruby and diamond demi-parure signed by Bulgari.

The necklace is very similar to that worn by Dorothy di Frasso in the photograph opposite. Bulgari Heritage Collection.

Facing page: Countess di Frasso with two of her guests at one of her famous costume parties at Villa Madama.

22

23

Above:1930s ruby and diamond demi-parure signed by Bulgari.

The necklace is very similar to that worn by Dorothy di Frasso in the photograph opposite. Bulgari Heritage Collection.

Facing page: Countess di Frasso with two of her guests at one of her famous costume parties at Villa Madama.

22

23

The emerald and diamond earrings bought from Bulgari for, or by, Elizabeth Taylor (wearing them in the picture opposite) circa 1961. They were sold at Christie’s, New York in December 2011. Private collection.

Above: The emerald and diamond pendant/brooch purchased by Richard Burton from Bulgari. This piece must have been bought before 1962 as Miss Taylor wore it during the filming of The VIPs that same year. It was sold at Christie’s, New York in December 2011.

Facing page: Elizabeth Taylor sparkling in her Bulgari diamond and emerald earrings and brooch/pendant.

184

185

The emerald and diamond earrings bought from Bulgari for, or by, Elizabeth Taylor (wearing them in the picture opposite) circa 1961. They were sold at Christie’s, New York in December 2011. Private collection.

Above: The emerald and diamond pendant/brooch purchased by Richard Burton from Bulgari. This piece must have been bought before 1962 as Miss Taylor wore it during the filming of The VIPs that same year. It was sold at Christie’s, New York in December 2011.

Facing page: Elizabeth Taylor sparkling in her Bulgari diamond and emerald earrings and brooch/pendant.

184

185

London, Autumn 1958.

G

iorgio Bulgari had travelled from Rome for this exceptional client. Vincent Astor (1891-1959) was staying in London for a few weeks. This was not one of those wealthy Americans to whom Bulgari could send a salesman, even an exceptional one. This was one of the richest billionaires in the United States, almost a legend. He belonged to the most ancient and illustrious American dynasty: the Astors. His grandmother, Caroline, “The Mrs Astor” as she was referred to, had been the first lady of New York high society at the end of the 19th century. An imperious matriarch who issued decrees on worldly life in Manhattan.

Haughty, elegant and always covered with jewels, she had laid down the first rules of American society. Her “reign” had begun at the end of the Civil War, when her husband, William Backhouse Astor Jr., had built an imposing mansion at 350 Fifth Avenue. He had chosen this site partly because his elder brother, John Jacob Astor, had settled right next door in a no less sumptuous home.

The centre of power in William Astor’s house was the ballroom. In fact, Mrs Astor had placed a special condition on the architect: “her” ballroom should hold a maximum of 400 people. This was the limit of the elegant society that she had imagined. With the help of Facing page: Brooke Astor (1902-2007) the legendary society queen of New York. She is wearing the emerald and diamond necklace ordered by her husband at Bulgari a few months before his death. Previous page: Brooke Astor’s Bulgari emerald and diamond necklace.

192

her friend, Samuel Ward McAllister, self-proclaimed supreme arbiter of elegance, she had undertaken to draw up an exhaustive list of these 400 people. Rumours of her plan spread quickly through the city and gaining entry to Mrs Astor’s 400 Club became the ambition of all American multimillionaires. And especially of their wives. It took over twenty years for the ambitious Alva Vanderbilt to enter this closed circle.

Mrs Astor’s snobbery had become such, that when her brother-in-law and neighbour, John Jacob Astor died in 1890, his son and heir, William Waldorf Astor, decided against living in his parents’ house because he did not want to live so close to his aunt. Moreover, he left the United States to settle in England where he eventually became a viscount. To annoy his aunt, he had torn down his parents’ home and in its place built the 13-storey Waldorf Hotel. His scheme was a grand success. After four years of living next door to the hotel’s guests, Mrs Astor chose to move out and abandon her legendary ballroom. To annoy her nephew in return, she had her home pulled down and had her own hotel built on the plot: the Astoria.

The two establishments would eventually merge to become the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, which would be destroyed in 1929, to make way for the Empire State Building.

The turbulent saga of the American Astors did not stop with the death of Caroline in 1908. Her son John Jacob IV (Vincent’s father) had an equally troubled fate. At the death of his father in 1892, he had inherited millions of dollars in property. A bit of a dabbler, he had invented several gadgets, including

193

London, Autumn 1958.

G

iorgio Bulgari had travelled from Rome for this exceptional client. Vincent Astor (1891-1959) was staying in London for a few weeks. This was not one of those wealthy Americans to whom Bulgari could send a salesman, even an exceptional one. This was one of the richest billionaires in the United States, almost a legend. He belonged to the most ancient and illustrious American dynasty: the Astors. His grandmother, Caroline, “The Mrs Astor” as she was referred to, had been the first lady of New York high society at the end of the 19th century. An imperious matriarch who issued decrees on worldly life in Manhattan.

Haughty, elegant and always covered with jewels, she had laid down the first rules of American society. Her “reign” had begun at the end of the Civil War, when her husband, William Backhouse Astor Jr., had built an imposing mansion at 350 Fifth Avenue. He had chosen this site partly because his elder brother, John Jacob Astor, had settled right next door in a no less sumptuous home.

The centre of power in William Astor’s house was the ballroom. In fact, Mrs Astor had placed a special condition on the architect: “her” ballroom should hold a maximum of 400 people. This was the limit of the elegant society that she had imagined. With the help of Facing page: Brooke Astor (1902-2007) the legendary society queen of New York. She is wearing the emerald and diamond necklace ordered by her husband at Bulgari a few months before his death. Previous page: Brooke Astor’s Bulgari emerald and diamond necklace.

192

her friend, Samuel Ward McAllister, self-proclaimed supreme arbiter of elegance, she had undertaken to draw up an exhaustive list of these 400 people. Rumours of her plan spread quickly through the city and gaining entry to Mrs Astor’s 400 Club became the ambition of all American multimillionaires. And especially of their wives. It took over twenty years for the ambitious Alva Vanderbilt to enter this closed circle.

Mrs Astor’s snobbery had become such, that when her brother-in-law and neighbour, John Jacob Astor died in 1890, his son and heir, William Waldorf Astor, decided against living in his parents’ house because he did not want to live so close to his aunt. Moreover, he left the United States to settle in England where he eventually became a viscount. To annoy his aunt, he had torn down his parents’ home and in its place built the 13-storey Waldorf Hotel. His scheme was a grand success. After four years of living next door to the hotel’s guests, Mrs Astor chose to move out and abandon her legendary ballroom. To annoy her nephew in return, she had her home pulled down and had her own hotel built on the plot: the Astoria.

The two establishments would eventually merge to become the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, which would be destroyed in 1929, to make way for the Empire State Building.

The turbulent saga of the American Astors did not stop with the death of Caroline in 1908. Her son John Jacob IV (Vincent’s father) had an equally troubled fate. At the death of his father in 1892, he had inherited millions of dollars in property. A bit of a dabbler, he had invented several gadgets, including

193