Bulgari
In 1880 Sotirios Boulgaris arrived in Italy looking to build a new life. He opened his shop on Via Sistina in Rome in 1884 and changed his name to Sotirio Bulgari. Originally focused on jewelry and antiques but then moved in 1894 he had premises on the Via dei Condotti dealing in a bit of everything. His sons, Constantino and Giorgio, joined him in the business and Sotirio began to concentrate his attention on his 10 Via dei Condotti location and expand his range of jewelry. Giorgio frequented Paris and brought back to Italy. The Bulgari jewelry and archives that survive from the 1920’s reveal this influence. In 1925 the firm employed a highly respected and skilled Master Goldsmith, Ubaldo Crescenzi, to run their own workshop; it was to prove a close and hugely fruitful collaboration that lasted 40 years and cemented the Bulgari name in history. Sotirio died in 1932 leaving the business to his sons who refurbished the store resulting in a spectacular marble clad front with the name BVLGARI in block capitals above the door. This marked the change from the letter U to the Roman V. The brothers settled into their different roles with Giorgio the force in both a creative and business sense. Constantino was more academic and focused on building the company’s collection of snuff boxes, jade and antique silver. With Giorgio’s death in 1966 and Constantino’s in 1973, management went to Giorgio’s sons Gianni, Paolo and Nicola and two of Constantino’s daughters, Anna and Marina. The company entered a period of modernization and they expanded oversees opening stores in New York, Geneva and Paris. In the mid 1980’s the management of the firm had taken on the form it has today. Marina, Anna and Gianni all left the business. Francesco Trapani, the son of Giorgio’s daughter Lia had joined after studying business administration in New York. He was made CEO at 27, alongside Paolo and Nicola who took the titles of President and Vice-President respectively.
