I have just returned from the sun-drenched clifftops of Taormina, Sicily—a storied jewel of the Mediterranean—where I bore witness to the unveiling of Bvlgari’s latest high jewellery magnum opus: Polychroma. These annual haute joaillerie pilgrimages are not mere product launches; they are exquisitely curated rites of passage, reserved for the haute monde—Very Important Clients, a rarefied circle of the fashion press, and those whose lives orbit the inner sanctum of luxury. It is, quite frankly, a theatre of dreams.
Bvlgari, ever the maestro of spectacle, has in years past transformed Venice’s Palazzo Ducale into a glittering salon and resurrected imperial grandeur in their birthplace, Rome, for the maison’s 140th anniversary gala. But this year, they outdid even themselves, selecting the mythic isle of Sicily as their stage, with Taormina, that Byzantine-meets-Baroque fantasia, as their mise-en-scène.
If you keep your finger on the pulse of pop culture (as one must), you’ve already glimpsed the Polychroma collection’s triumphant red carpet debut at the Met Gala—where Anne Hathaway and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, modern-day goddesses of glamour, radiated in its jewels. Even A$AP Rocky, ever the fashion provocateur, adorned himself in pieces from the collection, reaffirming the collection’s modern relevance.
But back to Taormina: As I strolled through the cobblestone labyrinth, shaded by citrus trees and washed in golden sunlight, it became exquisitely clear—this location was no accident. Taormina is a palimpsest of civilisations: Greek, Roman, Norman, Spanish, Byzantine, to name a few—all layered upon one another in a sublime visual symphony. This, too, is Bvlgari’s DNA. One need only remember that the maison’s visionary founder Sotirio Bulgari (née Sotirios Voulgaris), was Greek by birth and made his fortune and name in Rome. Destiny, it seems, wears a cabochon-cut gemstone.
The jewellery showcase unfolded at the San Domenico Palace, whose own lore has been recently revived by the second season of The White Lotus. Within these monastic yet lavish walls, 250 extraordinary creations—from kaleidoscopic high jewellery to horological marvels—awaited discovery. We were told by the brand spokesperson who took us on a tour that 56 gemstones in 16 cuts were used in this collection—a chromatic symphony of light. Most notably, 60 of the pieces were valued in the million-dollar stratosphere—a house record.
At the heart of this kaleidoscopic constellation were five masterpieces, each ensconced within the aptly named Gallery of Wonders: The Cosmic Vault necklace, with a hypnotic 123.35-carat sugarloaf sapphire, as worn by Anne Hathaway at the Met Gala; the Magnus Emerald necklace, flaunting a 241.06-carat Colombian emerald, donned by Priyanka Chopra Jonas at the Met Gala; the Celestial Mosaic necklace, with its dramatic 131.21-carat spinel from Tajikistan; the Polychromatic Bloom necklace, starring a triumvirate of brilliant stones: rubellite, peridot, tanzanite; and finally, the Essence of Yellow, a Trombino platinum ring that dazzled with an over 45-carat fancy vivid yellow diamond—a canary sunburst made manifest.
As twilight descended, the magic deepened. We were escorted via Bvlgari-branded Ape Calessinos—those quintessentially charming Italian three-wheelers that can be seen zipping through the streets of Taormina—to a gala dinner at the Grand Hotel Timeo. Seated amidst an intoxicating blend of Hollywood and haute couture—celebrities of the evening included Lisa of Blackpink, Liu Yifei, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and the indomitable Viola Davis—we dined under a velvet Sicilian sky, backdropped by the towering Mount Etna fading into the dusk.
The evening crescendoed with a brilliantly moving performance within the ancient Teatro Greco, where the stage came alive with a poetic ballet choreographed by Sir Wayne McGregor, resident visionary of The Royal Ballet. Set to the swelling strings of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the performance was nothing short of transcendent—a hypnotic pas de deux between antiquity and modernity, between body and brilliance.
In that moment, time seemed suspended—past and present colliding in a rhapsody of motion, light, and emotion. It was not merely a jewellery presentation; it was a reverent ode to beauty, legacy, and the enduring power of glamour. To that I say: Bravissima!
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