The Cardinal World of Delicious and Divine Scents
By Jo Phillips
The word Cardinal may well bring to mind that of a senior priest in the Roman Catholic church, the stage just under the Italian Pope, but it also has other meanings including, of prime importance; chief, principal. As well as being a tone of the colour red, its other important usage is to describe the four most precious jewellery stones. So how do we end up using it when talking about Scent, why not read, The Cardinal World of Delicious and Divine Scents and find out?
In the world of precious jewels, very few meet the mark of truly magnificent. Distinguished by their quality, rarity and the beauty of their colours, there really are only four precious stones. Diamonds, Sapphires, Rubies and Emeralds. These are known as Cardinal gems.
Cardinal gems are stones that have traditionally been considered precious above all others. This classification dates back all the way, to antiquity, and was largely determined by ceremonial or religious use and rarity. Unsurprisingly then, the word Cardinal, has been used for high-up officials in the Roman Catholic church.
Yet there is another more subtle link between the two words in Italy. Of course, the head of the Roman Chruch is in Rome, and when we think of great jewellery at the top of its game, we can only think of BVLGARI, as the top height within its market, one in which others stand in their shadows. The city of Rome is also famous for its fashion and design prestige, but also for its scent.
There is a famous park in the city called Giardino degli aranci The Orange Garden and when the blossom is in season it is the most exquisite place to be. Originally owned by the Dominican Order of the church of Santa Sabina, it is said that St Dominic himself loved to sit and preach under the shade of an orange tree.
Image Lalupa
It was to this city in 1884, that a visionary Greek silversmith, having come from the workshops of Paramythi in Greece chose as the city he wished to show off his skills. Sotirio BULGARI opened the doors to his first boutique on Via Sistina, right at the heart of the Italian capital, Roma, also the capital of the church.
Through the years he worked, Bulgari was characterised by its pioneering approach, embracing multiculturalism, as well as, transcending the conventional boundaries within the decorative arts arena.
The business grew and grew in reputation and success and by the early 1920s, under the guidance of Sotirio’s sons Giorgio and Costantino, the house expanded its range to include timepieces and jewellery creations.
The Art Déco movement was combined at the brand with the elegant use of platinum, whilst keeping with French traditions of the use of singular-colour stones. The 1930s saw change again with the father of the brand passing the sons taking over bringing the now famous “BVLGARI” logo, featuring the distinctive “V” inspired by ancient Roman inscriptions, being introduced.
BVLGARI embraced the warm hues of yellow gold to replace diamond-encrusted platinum during the period of WW2 when materials were scarce. As so often said Necessity is the mother of invention, doing so brought about even more creativity and experimentation.
The 1940s brought about iconic collections that included the legendary Serpenti bracelet watch. It combined the spiralled band, crafted using the Tubogas technique and a geometric watch dial. It also helped change the way women and men tended to wear their jewellery, no longer about socialite dinners or special occasions but about all-day wear and functionality.
The 1950s was about forging connections with prominent celebrities of the time, including Gina Lollobrigida and Anna Magnani. This carried through to the 1960s with celebrities like Sophia Loren, Ingrid Bergman, Elizabeth Taylor, Monica Vitti and Anita Ekberg all drawn to the exquisite collections.
The 1970s and the 1980s marked a significant period of expansion for BVLGARI, with the opening of new stores across Europe and the US, including New York, Paris, Geneva and Monte Carlo. The next decade saw much in was of new innovation including modular jewellery and the use of coloured cords mixed with fine jewellery
But the 1990s also saw developments and diversification, with the introduction of silk and leather accessories. However, it was also the launch of the first fragrance., that blew the house on to a new set of customers. An absolute first in the world of scent BVLGARI Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert explored the olfactory note of green tea.
With its fresh, watery -film-like tea accord wrapped into a layer of citrus and violet-toned woody facets it still stands 30 years later as a truly important and delicious seemingly simple, yet complex fragrance.
Created by hero perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena it is a fusion of at the top with Bergamot, Cardamom, Lemon, Coriander, Orange Blossom and Mandarin Orange. Its heart is a meeting of Jasmine, Lily-of-the-Valley and Bulgarian Rose. To hold these precious notes, and give them a solid base he used Green Tea, Musk, Cedar, Precious Woods, Sandalwood and Amber.
Think of this unique fragrance as a hit of morning freshness with the green, soft bitterness of fresh leaves, against the absolute sweetness of night-blooming jasmine, all of which is smelt through the haze of sunlight.
Green Tea fields
From this point on the brand became synonymous with excellence in fragrance, with both men’s women and unisex offerings available. They have cleverly added specific collections to honour the heritage.
In the early 200’s came two collections, The Omnia collection started with its unique ‘link’ bottle and the Le Gemme collection has a very distinct link to BVLGARI’s gemstones. A sensory experience in perfumery that celebrates nature’s most exquisite gems and ingredients through precious olfactive jewels.
But because of the DNA of the House, one where it has always been ahead of the curve, saw them create a collection that changed the way we all wear scent, meet the Allegra Collection. As personal as a single piece of jewellery is so is one’s chosen perfume.
First launched in 2021, the collection allows wearers to choose a base scent from Allegra and use it with a Magnifying Essence from the collection. Bringing to the wearer, an emphasising element, one that expands a key facet in a fragrance and amplifies it. This started the whole trend of layering perfume, but also the idea of personalising a scent so it is as personal as the ring you choose to wear.
So, say for example you love a citrus scent then the newest addition to the collection is perfect for you. Meet Chill & Sole created by Master perfumer Jacques Cavallier, all built around the idea of sea air meeting orange grooves as the sun beams down and with it comes its magnifying sister scent BVLGARI Allegra Neroli Magnifying Eau De Parfum
Thw Eau de Parfum Chill & Sole took specialist knowledge of how a perfume truly works and it took a Master Perfumer such as Jacques Cavallier to be able to craft, this emotive ‘orange’ sunshine and seaside scent.
In perfumery, any citrus scent is difficult to ‘control’. Notes such as Orange, Lemon, Bergamot and Mandarin are referred to as volatile. This means they release their scent quickly, they are ‘light’ so they leave the skin quickly as opposed to wood and amber notes that are heavier and can last much longer on the skin
So when creating a perfume that celebrates a citrus note such as Orange the master perfumer must understand how to ‘maniple’ the blend of notes in order to carry the sense of this volatile citrus t through the whole scent rather than just getting a spray-like hit at the top.
This master can’t give away his tried and tested potion ingredients and craft secrets as to how he achieved this, but what he has explained, is that he used multiple ‘facets of citrus options’ to build this elixir. There are three facets of ‘orange’ here, Neroli, Orange Blossom and Petitgrain.
Neroli oil is an essential oil produced from the Blossom of the Bitter Orange Tree, with a scent that is sweet, honeyed and somewhat metallic with green and spicy facets. The Orange Blossom also comes from the same tree but smells sweeter, warmer and more floral. Alongside these two elements come Petitgrain an essential oil that is extracted from the leaves and green twigs of the same tree. Not sweet or citrusy in the same way as the other two it has a slight ‘tartness’ alongside hits ‘greenness’ and woody elements. This brings a different volatility to the set-up.
This is a warm sparkling soft fragrance with a gentle sea breeze running through with lemon in too to keep it vital with intense summer-sunshine freshness. Alongside, find Italian Mandarin and the heavenly Jasmine Sambac for sweet, musky, and sultry, elegance, to wrap it like the softest sunny day around you.
Now to magnify the utterly Italian emotions within this scent, to ‘explode’ and customise it, add the BVLGARI Allegra Neroli Magnifying Eau De Parfum
Here the neroli is bold and sparkling with intense freshness and nuances of green. This makes for an invigorating vavacious added layer to Chill & Sole. But also know, that these Magnifying Essences offer the opportunity to pair one of these creations with any other fragrance from the Bvlgari Allegra collection.
This is where customisation really comes alive. Where a singular personality can be expressed. Each BVLGARI Allegra Magnifying is designed to match and enhance all the Eaux de Parfums of the collection. Because these bottled magical elixirs are highly
concentrated, powerful and vibrant, they allow for an expression of true exclusivity.
BVLGARI Allegra Chill & Sole invites you to reconnect with your senses in a radiant Mediterranean setting by the sea. But each of the potions captures the magic of Italy, each of its regal locations caught in a bottle, each a Cardinal Gem of their own making.
Find out more about BVLGARI Allegra Sole and Chill Here and BVLGARI Allegra Neroli Magnifying Eau De Parfum her
