Lucia Silvestri never ceases to express her love for gems. Beginning her career in the Bulgari gemological department at the early age of 18, the Bulgari brothers quickly intuited Lucia’s great potential, nurtured her talent and decided to teach her the trade. At the age of 20, she started to travel the world to meet the world’s most renowned gemological experts to become an expert herself. Her achievements were recognized during the 15th Annual GEM Award held in January, 2017 in New York and to be honest, this is the least we can expect for the great jewelry creative director.

During the launch of Bulgari’s Festa high jewelry collection in Dubai, Azyaamode got the chance to sit down with Lucia Silvestri to know more about her passion, her story and her creative vision.

You started your journey at Bulgari when you were only 18 years old. How did that happen?

My father was working at Bulgari and he asked me if I wanted to replace his secretary for four months because she was pregnant. Back then, I was studying biology and was very concentrated on my studies, but I accepted the opportunity as long as it didn’t exceed the four months. When I met Mr. Bulgari for the first time in his office with a big table and all the gems, the emeralds, the rubies and the sapphires, I felt an immediate connection. Not only thinking they were beautiful, but I also felt a connection and he could feel the same. He said, “I can see that you have some sort of connection with gems.” I was very shy but I started to touch the precious stones. He told me, “when you finish your work, you can come to my office and see how I work with the stones.” And so every evening, I went to his office and we started to play with the stones.

Talking about the gems were these stones more available back then in terms of size and quality?

Yes for sure, I remember we had a box containing huge rubies that are impossible to find today. It was filled with 5 lines of rubies of 5 to 10 carats. Today, things have changed when it comes to gemstones such as emeralds, sapphires and especially rubies.

What did you learn during your experience and how difficult was it?

I was very lucky to be trained by the master. I used to say that I was the right person at the right moment because at some point it was really a family business, and he told me that we need a young person like you to work with the gems. We do not work with ordinary gems; we only buy the important stones so we need some people who can learn that about us. And so, they put their trust in me and invested in me. It was a man’s world, so it was very tough for me, especially with the negotiations. Most of the board members were men and they did not want to negotiate with me – which made it even more difficult.

Can you tell us a little bit about Bulgari’s latest high jewelry collection, Festa?

Festa means festivities and as Italians, we love to celebrate. So, when we decided on the theme, I was very happy because it was a theme of joy. In fact, I am very happy to work with my team because the success of the brand for me is all about team work. So I worked with them, and I said we have to be crazy in a way and we have to think about our childhood, our traditions, and also think about the noble world like princesses, especially Roman princesses. We also got inspired by the Dolce Vita; it was a very happy period of life full of celebrations. I also thought about my childhood, cakes, balloons, trains that I played with.

What sets Bulgari’s high jewelry apart other than the extraordinary color combinations of the gemstones?

I think that we are contemporary. In my personal opinion, I feel that at Bulgari we are always contemporary with our DNA. We always stay true to our past but we also look at the needs of today’s market, the fashion trends and the modern society. Even our craftsmanship is contemporary. We have a great workshop for high jewelry in Rome and a great factory in Valenza, and they are both equipped with the newest technologies. So being contemporary while taking into consideration the past of the house is what makes us different.

When we talk about high jewelry, we have this impression that it is a unique piece. Is this the case or do you reproduce some of the pieces?

It’s a mix of both. For instance, the Festa is one-of-a-kind because we work around a central stone. So it is impossible to make another one. When we talk about the Palloncini necklace, it is something that we can work on because we can find other stones. It depends on the piece. If we see that we immediately sold the Palloncini necklaces and that it was a great success, we try to make another one in different colors, but not more than 3 or 4 pieces.

What advice would you give to today’s up-and-coming jewelry designers based on your own experience?

It is very important to design something creative but wearable. I have met so many young designers that are very creative but they do not now that jewels must be wearable, and this is the most difficult part in the creation of a jewelry piece. A creation is not beautiful because it is creative, as it’s not a painting that you hang on the wall. Creating a wearable jewelry piece is smart.

Mirella Haddad