1884
A Roman beginning
Bulgari’s first shop established a business that developed from silverwork into fine jewellery. Rome’s architecture and history became lasting sources of inspiration.
The House & Its Designers
Bvlgari
Rome · 1884
A Roman jeweller’s eye for colour, translated into bags.
Sotirio Bulgari brought his Greek silversmithing background to Rome in 1884. The house’s jewellery traditions explain its accessories: saturated colour, polished hardware and the serpent as a recurring motif.
4 photographs · Reviewed August 2026
Explore the history ↓
01 / The house
The story behind the name.
1940s onward
The serpent
Serpenti watches joined jewellery and watchmaking in a coiling form. The motif evolved across materials and techniques before becoming a recognisable feature of bags.
The leather goods
Jewellery at the clasp
Serpenti bags make hardware the focal point. Their closures and chains draw on the house’s jewellery language, while structured leather gives those details a clear frame.
02 / The designers
The people who shaped the house.
Selected creative chapters; dates distinguish appointments from runway debuts.
Founder
Sotirio Bulgari
His silversmithing practice established the house’s foundations.
Jewellery and accessories
The design ateliers
Bvlgari’s bags extend a collective tradition of colour, ornamental metalwork and the Serpenti motif.
03 / The bags
A vocabulary in leather and form.
A selection of the house’s designs. Resale photographs illustrate individual examples; size, finish and condition vary.
01
Serpenti Forever
An enamelled snakehead clasp turns the house’s jewellery motif into handbag hardware.
02
Serpenti Cabochon
A padded leather interpretation of the Serpenti bag, retaining its snakehead clasp.
