Inspired by the tradition of high jewellery and its values of excellence and uniqueness, Bulgari has entered the world of haute perfumery with Le Gemme collection.

Dedicated to women, the collection is created by master perfumer Daniela Andrier and is billed as “the supreme expression of the essence of the jeweller”.

The colour and light of six legendary gemstones have shaped the high-end fragrances, reserving them for only the most refined of women, says Bulgari. Their legends and stories connect the origins of these gemstones, bringing onto one path six magnificent locations around the world, it adds.

Bulgari says they express its passion for exceptional raw materials, by embarking on a “journey around the world on the secret gems road”.

Ever since the Phoenician ships began plying the Mare Internum which borders three continents, the Mediterranean has been the bridgehead between Africa and Asia connecting people and their cultures, it says. It brought the marvels of the ancient world - spices, aromatic plants and precious stones - from the edges of the world, over mountains and deserts. 

Le Gemme is a collection that the “master of colored gemstones” created like a voyage - the true “base note” of a collection composed like six concertos.

Each one corresponds with an iconic stone in the story of Bulgari - the amethyst, the tourmaline, the turquoise, the peridot, the citrine, and the moonstone - and in its translation into an olfactory language. 

The six “travel notebooks” include Noorah (the Turquoise), Ashlemah (the amethyst), Lilaia (the peridot), Maravilla (the citrine), Calaluna (the moonstone), and Amarena (the tourmaline).

“In writing these six perfumes, I based myself on the colour of stones, on the magic which allows light to travel right through them, a rare phenomenon in the world. In this very intuitive work, I addressed the memory of ancestral beliefs on stones and fragrances like a deep-seated emotion which radiates from them. But perfume is first and foremost a poetic relationship with oneself. The imaginative world it brings to life is entirely composed of emotions which are unique to every one of us,” says Andrier.

She continues: “I do not particularly like explaining things, as they have their mystery, and that is the way it should be. I have not used the concept of the olfactory pyramid as I “only” played with the different facets of often precious components to create a sort of hymn to light, modern in its expression. For example one cannot say that lavender “smells” purple or that irises “smell” blue, but at the same time, in our minds, I think there is a natural association between colours and scents. Just as the pink of tourmaline immediately makes me think of delicate skin tones and the taste of a pomegranate one bites into.

“Le Gemme is a singular, very luxurious, collection, if only owing to the cost of some of its components. There is even an ingredient - which comes from Vetiver acetate - that in some regards I have helped saved, as its production was due to be stopped because of its cost. The fact that stones, their light, their colour should be the guiding principle behind the creation of these six fragrances - including the bottles which are also a celebration of gems - is in perfect harmony with Bulgari’s ethos.”

The flacon, designed in collaboration with Atelier Oï, takes its inspiration from the ancient amphora, the noble Roman vessel used to carry precious materials: oils, gems, silk, perfumes and spices.

The fragrance is presented in its bottle like a gem nestled in its setting. 

The cap which crowns the bottle is inspired by the Bulgari tradition of the cabochon cut. It is a perfect, finely polished precious stones set in a yellow gold ring. The tonality of each stone is intensified by the black colour of the rounded part and the base of the bottle. 

Carriers of messages, these luxurious bottles, gathered together in one collection, bear comparison to an exceptional Bulgari jewellery creation.