The Creative Phenomena of the New Millennium

«In jewelry, breaks, changes and transformations have always been cyclical and fashion-related. It is like the swinging of a pendulum, in continuous movement based on the constant alternation of trends. For example, if white dominated in the Twenties and Thirties, the Forties were years of color, the Fifties favored cold shades again, the Sixties featured bright colors, and so on. The decade that opened the new Millennium – 2000-2010 – did not break with this tradition. In fact, it acted as a counterbalance to what had occurred previously in the Nineties. While the latter had been dominated by an alternation of black and white, thanks to the ingenious intuition of Fawaz Gruosi with his De Grisogono – launched in 1993 – which had brought black diamonds into vogue, hitherto unused in high jewelry because they were of little value, the 2000-2010 decade turned things around with two precise trends. On the one hand, color came back and pink gold boomed while on the other, micro pavé “à la Jar” made progress, especially when applied on large jewelry pieces which were crafted in titanium or aluminum so that large volumes could be experimented. The change of trend from the 1990s was particularly noticeable in haute joaillerie, which began to use semi-precious stones due to the wide variety of colors they offered. Spinels, spessartites (mandarin garnets), peridots, tourmalines... Thanks to the pioneering spirit of Bulgari which chose them for its one-of-a-kind collections, the market value of many gems soared during those years. Nowadays, paying mind-boggling sums for a pink or lilac spinel is no longer a surprise... This pendulum swing towards micro pavé degradé, towards oversized naturalistic shapes, among flowers and butterflies in ultra-light titanium, was also highly appealing to a new generation of Asian designers. In fact, it was during these years that we saw the growth of creative phenomena such as Wallace Chan, Anna Hu, Cindy Chao, Michelle Ong... who filtered Jar's innovative virtuosity – just think of the famous Moghul bracelet of 1987, later taken up by many Chinese “followers” - laying the foundations for what is now a New Gen of independent Chinese designers, who challenge the market with ironic and often irreverent jewelry.»

Amanda Triossi 
Born in Rome, she holds a degree in Art History from Cambridge University and a diploma in Gemology from the Gemological Association of Great Britain. A lecturer and consultant for luxury companies, from 1997 to 2015 she oversaw the creation of the Historical Archive and the “Heritage Collection Bulgari.” @amandatriossi.