Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
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As Chicagoans hunker down for the coming season of shorter days and longer nights, Bulgari's Lucea collection shines like a beacon for the city's leading women. Featuring a sundial face in homage to the jeweler's Roman heritage, the timepiece—whose linked bracelet draws inspiration from the label's iconic Serpenti line—boasts a playful pop of color at the crown courtesy of a diamond-set cabochon. And with two new white-gold versions, one featuring a pavé diamond dial, the other diamonds on the bezel and bracelet, punctuality is all the more dazzling. 909 N. Michigan Ave., 312-255-1313; bulgari.com First inspiration: The Gardens of Ninfa (often referred to as "the most romantic gardens in the world") near Rome. ColleCtion size: 100 pieces. showstopper: The Blue Iridescence necklace, boasting 187 carats of large blue sapphires. Multita er: The sapphire and diamond Water Symphony necklace (shown above) can become a brooch and bracelet. hardest geM to sourCe at the preMiuM level: "Rubies. We can find 20 diamonds that are internally flawless at 10 carats to every one ruby of that quality and weight." Big geMs and high-teCh: "With diamonds there's a lot of technology; with colored gems the sensibility and experience of the owner or the cutter are very important." // watch it // Let there Be Light 58 michiganavemag.com photography Courtesy of Bulgari (jewelry); DaviD atlan (Bruni-sarkozy) from left: The Sparkling Hearts necklace from Bulgari's Italian Gardens Haute Joaillerie collection; a detail of the collection's Secret Garden necklace; Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy might have the most glamorous résumé on the planet: former supermodel and frst lady of France, award-winning musi- cian, and since 2013 the face of jet-set favorite Bulgari. "I love shooting pictures again," Bruni-Sarkozy says as she wraps a day's photography session for the Rome-based jeweler at a villa in the hills above Florence. "As a song- writer, you spend most of your time alone." Bruni-Sarkozy represents a most rarefed niche of modern celebrity (think Taylor Swift as an American presidential spouse for an idea of her unique fame), someone who has earned her superstar bona fdes in widely divergent Rock On! Carla Bruni-sa ozy, the face of Bulgari and gloBal glamour, talks aBout why italian gardens, the jeweler's latest dazzling collection, has special meaning for her. by catherine sabino many of her best childhood memories, growing up in Tu- rin, are connected with them. The new collection takes inspiration from Italy's land- scape splendor, specifcally the Renaissance garden conceits that infuenced horticultural style for centuries, says Lucia Silvestri, creative director for Bulgari. Intricate parterre and swirling fowerbed pat- terns defne a pavé necklace, Sparkling Hearts; another masterpiece, Magical Refec- tion, pays homage to the water artistry of the terraces at Villa Lante, a Mannerist garden in central Italy, with faw- less pear-shaped diamonds. Renaissance gardens had their special hideaways, where the most exquisite fowers bloomed, which prompted Bulgari to create Secret Gar- den, a gem bouquet necklace with rubellite, tanzanite, citrine, and other vivid stones. For Bruni-Sarkozy jew- elry has always been much more than a luxury item. "It represents a world of feelings, wonderful memories, and a little nostalgia, too," she says, recalling gifts given to her by her family and husband, as well as the care she took to fnd the right pieces for state occasions while frst lady of France. "Jewelry is always related to special moments in life." As for her favorite gem, Bruni-Sarkozy says diplo- matically that she likes both diamonds and colored stones, then adds with a wink, "Even if you're a woman and not a girl anymore, diamonds are your best friend. It's a good title for a song, actually. I should write it, don't you think?" MA arenas. While very much the modern woman juggling a megawatt career, high-profle spouse (rumored to have his eye on the Élysée Palace again), and children, she comes across more as thought- ful artiste than boldfacer and is quick to express a distinct appreciation for the aesthetics of Europe's lavish past. Bruni- Sarkozy once mused that if she could go back in time, it would be to Florence during the days of the Medici, which makes her third campaign for Bulgari, Italian Gardens, the name of the jewelry house's latest Haute Joaillerie line, a particularly resonant one. "Gardens are one of the most beautiful things mankind has created," she says, noting that TENDING THEIR GARDEN Lucia Silvestri, Bulgari's creative director, gives us the scoop on crafting the Italian Gardens collection: StyLe Must-have