Stephen Russell

A Masterpiece of Italian Gold: Bulgari Roma, circa 1960s
Currently in the Stephen Russell Collection is an exceptional suite of 18K gold jewelry by Bulgari Roma — a boldly scaled chain necklace and matching bracelet of the most iconic Mariner link design. Signed “Bulgari Roma,” these pieces date to the golden era of the Roman house, when Bulgari’s Via Condotti atelier was defining a new visual language for luxury — one that rejected delicate Parisian conventions in favor of something altogether more powerful, sculptural, and unapologetically Italian.
The oversized interlocking links, with their matte and polished gold surfaces, are quintessentially Bulgari: architectural in form, wearable as art. This scale and confidence of design became a hallmark of the house in the postwar decades, when Bulgari dressed the most glamorous women of the era — from Roman nobility to Hollywood royalty.
The early “Roma” signature places this suite firmly among the most collectible examples of mid-century Italian goldsmithing. Far more than an accessory, this is a cultural artifact — a testament to Rome’s extraordinary place at the center of the world’s style imagination.
Exceptionally rare. Historically significant. Utterly timeless.

To place the final accent on a beautiful gown, Paris offers its most precious assistance: jewelry. Worn wider and higher on the wrist, this bracelet creates the effect of a long cuff, a bouquet of leaves winding around the arm and blossoming with the sparkle of diamonds. Executed with remarkable sensitivity, the natural motif is divided between diamond-set leaves and polished platinum, while a delicately shaped platinum band, adorned with diamonds arranged in a spiral, brings brilliance and movement, encircling the wrist with restrained éclat.