Jewels meet national treasure at Bvlgari’s trunk show
The historic House of Tan Yeok Nee provided a perfect backdrop for the Italian luxury brand to showcase its high jewellery and high-end watches to select guests
[SINGAPORE] Luxury brands are always on the lookout for exceptional spaces in which to launch collections or stage events. So you could say it was a big score for Bvlgari when it became the first luxury maison to present its high jewellery and high-end watch trunk show at the historic House of Tan Yeok Nee last Wednesday (Jul 23).
Built between 1882 and 1885, the national monument belonged to Teochew businessman Tan Yeok Nee. It is one of “Four Grand Mansions” in Singapore built by businessmen from the dialect group; it’s also the only one remaining.
The very elegant property, which sits prominently at the junction of Penang Road and Clemenceau Avenue, is distinct for its Teochew architecture, including intricate timber carvings, calligraphy and fine paintings.
Its courtyards and beautifully carved woodwork made the perfect backdrop for the Roman jeweller’s trunk show, where gemstones in a kaleidoscope of colours were displayed across various halls and rooms.
A total of 145 masterpieces were presented, including selections from its latest high jewellery collection, Turmali. The term is derived from the Sinhalese word for “stone of many colours”, or what we call tourmaline today.
The jewels from the Turmali collection mark the final chapter of the maison’s Colour Journey saga – a series of high jewellery capsule collections featuring rare and vibrant gems that started in 2020.
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Previous editions put the spotlight on other coloured stones: paraiba tourmaline, spinel, kunzite and morganite and mandarin garnet.
Given that it comes in a wide spectrum of colours, tourmaline offers jewellers much to play with – and Bvlgari certainly took advantage of that. Known for its use of gemstones in bold, vivid hues, the jeweller was one of the first maisons to incorporate tourmalines in high jewellery in the 1970s.
Its latest trunk show featured the gemstone in various forms, including paraiba tourmalines and rubellites, as well as specimens in striking hues of lagoon, mint, pink and green.
Bvlgari fans have come to expect spectacular jewels from the maison and they were not disappointed. One is the Serpenti Azure Mirage, where Bvlgari’s iconic serpent motif is crafted in lifelike form into a necklace, bracelet, brooch and earrings.
The paraiba tourmaline is the highlight of the set, its luminous, Mediterranean blue hue standing out against the opaqueness of turquoise inserted along the snake’s body. Pave-set diamonds enrich the yellow gold serpents, whose eyes sparkle with buff-top emeralds.
For those who prefer a riot of happy hues, Rhapsody of Colour is definitely a set to fall in love with. The ensemble of necklace, earrings and brooch is a proud display of gemstones carefully selected to create a harmonious and delightful celebration of light, tone and transparency.
What you have is a gorgeous palette of green tourmalines, rubellites, mandarin garnets, amethysts and mother-of-pearl, accompanied by pave-set diamonds. Naturally, the star of the set is the necklace, from which five pear-shaped green tourmalines totalling 70.53 carats dance.
The trunk show also featured fabulous high-end watches. One of our favourites is the diamond-encrusted Serpenti Misteriosi Dragone Cabochon with a hidden Jaeger-LeCoulture movement. The timepiece’s snake head is topped with a 9.06 carat cabochon emerald, making it appear – to us at least – as if it’s wearing a Chinese skullcap.
Quite appropriate, we thought, for the location.
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