Bulgari "Serpenti" Coral and Diamond Necklace

This contemporary Serpenti coral, diamond and 18K rose gold necklace was created in anticipation of Bulgari's "Serpentiform" exhibition examining the role of the snake in art and design through history. The highly-flexible serpent's scales are set with shaped corals and diamonds, approximate total weight 52.65 carats, all gently encircling the neck, the head interconnecting with and draping across its own tail. One of a limited number of Bulgari High Jewelry Serpenti necklaces from the period, this inspired design of supreme suppleness, rare materials, glamour, and high wearability is an eternal classic of the brand.

Materials: Coral; 2 pear-cut diamonds (approximate total weight 0.83 carat with VVS-VS clarity and G color grade); 829 brilliant-cut diamonds (approximate total weight 51.78 carats with VVS-VS clarity and F/G color grade); 18K Rose Gold
Gram Weight: 225.3 grams
Signed: BVLGARI AU750, Italian control mark, MADE IN ITALY, 260379, 750MI

In 2016, Bulgari mounted an exhibition to showcase the dual role of the serpent and Rome in the global artistic imagination, with a particular emphasis on icons of modern and contemporary art like Alexander Calder, Keith Haring, and Robert Mapplethorpe. Traveling from Rome to China and Japan, the exhibition explored the snake's significance in the art of diverse civilizations, and the animal's importance in conveying eternal themes - renewal, rebirth, regeneration and disruption among them. As her most important sources of inspiration, Lucia Silvestri, Bulgari's head jewelry designer since 2013, credits the light, magnificence and color of Rome and its architecture, and the "immense creative input" hiding in every corner. Soon after Silvestri assumed her role as creative director, Bulgari created a limited number of High Jewelry Serpenti necklaces, which also include exotic snakewood as well as platinum and diamond versions. With its beautifully-matched gem corals assembled over a long period, and craftsmanship requiring hundreds of hours of specialists' time, this coral Serpenti joins the iconic pieces of the firm's production.