The story behind Bulgari’s iconic B.zero1 ring
For me calling at Bulgari’s shop is like visiting the best exhibition of contemporary art — Andy Warhol
MANILA, Philippines -Bulgari recently celebrated the enduring success of one of its most iconic pieces — the B.zero1 ring — with a grand party at the Bulgari Hotel in Milan. The timing of the party during the prestigious international fair is not coincidental: launched at the end of 1999, on the cusp of the end of the old millenium and the beginning of a brave new one, the B.zero1 ring has stood out for 14 years as a true brand design statement conveying in an immediate and powerful way all the strengths of the Bulgari style.
Its radical, industrial design fuses two hallmarks of the Bulgari iconography: the Tubogas motif and the distinctive Bulgari logo. In tune with the rich creative heritage of the brand, its iconic spiral is a metaphor for the triumphant harmony of past, present and future as well as — in a seamless transition between beginning and end — a symbol for eternal renewal. Engraved along the side, the Bulgari logo encircles itself, reflecting the spiral for a perfect synthesis of tradition and innovation.
The B.zero1’s ongoing success owes much to the lyrical timelessness of its design, a composition of two perfectly balanced parts.
The first, a central looping band, references the golden hoops of the Tubogas’s flexible tubular chain, a late 19th-century design named after the winding tubes of the petrol pump or gas hose that Bulgari had reintroduced in the 1940s.The band is created using an extremely sophisticated technique in which long metal strips are wrapped and interlocked without any soldering.
The second part of the B.zero1 features two flat rings that clasp around the sleek central loops, each engraved with the imposing gravitas of the BVLGARI double logo. The iconic font was introduced for the first time in 1934 with the revamping of the flagship via Condotti store in Rome. For the occasion, the Bulgari family decided to adopt the ancient Roman epigraphy incorporating the Latin “V†instead of the Anglicised “U†— in one fell swoop, stretching the house name far back into Roman culture which is the rich, unending source of inspiration for so much of Bulgari’s creative DNA.
More recently, the outer bands in pink gold have encircled Tubogas bands rendered in white or black ceramic — a delightful homage to Bulgari’s famed Chandra collection which was first launched in 1994. This innovative and provocative line of jewels was rendered in white porcelain moulded into variously shaped beads.
And in 2010, the groundbreaking artist and sculptor Anish Kapoor was asked to create a new iteration of the B.zero1 to commemorate the ring’s 10th anniversary. His celebratory piece — a daring fusion of the traditional Tubogas spiral into a gleaming liquid mirror surface — cannily intersected the world of contemporary art and Bulgari tradition, yet another example of how Bulgari is able to seamlessly blend respect for history and aesthetic values with innovative techniques.
The most recent addition to the B.zero1 collection is an explicit homage to Bulgari’s ancient Greek and Roman heritage — this time, the rose gold caps encircling spirals carved out of marble in three hues, green bowenite, lapis blue and tobacco brown. The use of marble (from the ancient Greek word meaning “shining stoneâ€) as a material is both unexpected and, at the same time, an artistic tribute that morphs an ancient stone long associated with enduring luxury and sculptural beauty with the modernity and industrial lines of the B.zero1.
