Bulgari Vintage 1.50 Carat Diamond and Platinum Solitaire Ring Circa 1940
By Bulgari
Located in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Weight 3.98 grams Date: Circa 1940 Maker: Bulgari SKU: C7912
Vintage 1940s Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Platinum
Bulgari Vintage 1.50 Carat Diamond and Platinum Solitaire Ring Circa 1940
By Bulgari
Located in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Weight 3.98 grams Date: Circa 1940 Maker: Bulgari SKU: C7912
Diamond, Platinum
Vintage Bulgari 8.01 Ct Muzo Green Colombian Emerald Diamond Platinum Ring
By Bulgari
Located in Roma, IT
An exceptional vintage BULGARI Colombian emerald and diamond ring, dating to circa the 1940s, centered by an extraordinary 8.01 carat natural Colombian emerald whose remarkable color...
Diamond, White Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
Bvlgari 18k Gold Steel Tubogas Bangle, Italy, Circa 1940s, Unisex Design
By Bulgari
Located in istanbul, TR
Bvlgari Tubogas Bangle in 18k Yellow Gold and Steel Elevating the jewellery technique cherished by the Roman Maison since the 1940s into an iconic collection, Bvlgari Tubogas intert...
18k Gold, Steel
Bulgari Diamond Gold Pinkie Ring
By Bulgari
Located in Lugano, TI
A charming scroll-shaped ring, crafted in 18 kt yellow gold, wearable as pinkie ring, size 4. Designed by Bulgari in 1940s, enriched of white diamond pavé boules (ct. 0,56). Signed B...
White Diamond, 18k Gold
Bulgari Coral Gold Parure 1940s
By Bulgari
Located in New York, NY
Fascist hallmarks showing "Rome n. 11" standing for Giorgio Bulgari . Italy, circa 1940. Bracelet length : 7.2 Necklace length: 16.8 Ring size : Adjustable
Coral, 18k Gold
Bulgari Retro Diamond Gold Ring
By Bulgari
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Bulgari's ideals are built on unconventional style, breaking the mold of the mundane and bringing vibrant new life to traditional adornments for the body divine. A rare use of 3 old ...
Diamond, 18k Gold
Bulgari Iconic Retro Diamond Gold Bracelet
By Bulgari
Located in New York, NY
Made in Italy, circa 1940.
White Diamond, 18k Gold
1940s Bulgari Retro Diamond Gold Link Bracelet
By Bulgari
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
For the Bulgari collector, we offer this stung important retro design, fashioned as wave-shaped links of rose gold, set with diamonds at their crests. When you drape the bracelet aro...
Diamond, Rose Gold
Bulgari Cushion Sapphire Diamond Gold Ring
By Bulgari
Located in Chevy Chase, MD
A beautiful Bulgari cushion shaped sapphire and diamond ring set in 20k yellow gold. The sapphire weighs 2.19cts, and the transitional cut round diamonds are a total estimated weigh...
Diamond, Sapphire, Yellow Gold
Bulgari 5.98 Carat Burma No Heat Ruby Diamond Platinum Trombino Ring
By Bulgari
Located in Austin, TX
A truly stunning and classic Trombino ring, by Bulgari. Featuring a mixed cushion cut 5.98 ct Burma no heat ruby, surrounded by 4.40 carats of pavé set diamonds and baguette cut di...
Ruby, White Diamond, Platinum
Retro Bvlgari Diamond 18 Karat Gold Compact
By Bulgari
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
One Retro Bvlgari Diamond 18 Karat Gold Compact. Featuring six round brilliant cut diamonds with a total weight of approximately 0.20 carat, graded E-F color, VS clarity. Crafted in ...
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Bulgari Retro Ruby Diamond Rose Gold Cuff
By Bulgari
Located in Weston, MA
Designed as an articulated belt strap made of 18k rose gold brick links with a buckle enhanced by round brilliant-cut diamonds and circle-cut rubies, this 1940s-era Bulgari bracelet ...
Ruby, Diamond, Rose Gold, Platinum
Bulgari 1940s Machine Age Gold Bracelet
By Bulgari
Located in Greenwich, CT
Designed in the 1940's by Bulgari and influenced by World War II, this one-of-a-kind handmade bracelet draws it's inspiration from wartime tank tracks and treads as well as the emerg...
18k Gold
Large Gold Bulgari Money Clip
By Bulgari
Located in New York, NY
Figural "paper clip" money clip. Made and signed by BULGARI. 18K yellow gold. 2 2/3" long. A rarely seen Bulgari object. Alice Kwartler has sold the finest antique gold and diam...
18k Gold
1940s Bulgari Woven Gold Bracelet
By Bulgari
Located in Roma, IT
An unusual 1940s Bulgari 18K yellow gold bracelet. Signed Bulgari. Soft, weaved. Length 18.5 cm. Weight 76 g. This lot is for sale with Customer to Customer price.
Yellow Gold
Bulgari Ladies Yellow Gold Tubogas Serpentine Black Dial Quartz Wristwatch
By Bulgari
Located in Columbia, MO
Introduced in 1940, the first Bulgari Serpenti watches met instant success & quickly became one of the most iconic Bulgari collections.
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1940s Bulgari Retro Iolite Gold Conical Cabochon Cufflinks
By Bulgari
Located in Narberth, PA
A fabulous pair of signed Bvlgari cufflinks from the Retro (ca1940) era! Crafted in 18kt yellow gold, each of these double-sided cufflinks has a round face and a vibrant iolite stone...
Iolite, 18k Gold
Greek silversmith Sotirios Voulgaris arrived in Rome in 1881 and set up his own shop there in 1884, calling it Bulgari, an Italianization of his last name (in the brand's logo, it's styled BVLGARI, using the classical Latin alphabet in a nod to ancient Roman culture). In 1905, he opened the company’s flagship boutique on Rome’s Via dei Condotti. Since then, Bulgari has looked to Rome as a source of reference for its fanciful and decidedly romantic designs for necklaces, bracelets, earrings and other accessories.
Although the iconic jewelry house found success with its silverwork and Art Deco designs, popular through the 1920s, Bulgari’s signature style — bold, often using yellow gold embellished with big colorful gemstones — began to emerge when Sotirios’s sons inherited the business, in 1932.
The brand truly hit its stride in the dolce vita era of the 1950s and ’60s, when the founder’s grandsons Paolo, Gianni and Nicola Bulgari decisively departed from demure traditional styles to develop the house’s exuberant multi-gem looks, attracting celebrity collectors like Elizabeth Taylor.
In the 1940s, Bulgari debuted perhaps its most famous design, the Serpenti bracelet watch. The piece’s snakelike coils were made possible by the tubogas jewelry technique, which links a flexible series of thin horizontal bands. Both the sleek, modern tubogas construction and the sinuous snake motif continue to be synonymous with the Bulgari brand.
On 1stDibs, the collection of vintage Bulgari jewelry includes rings, pendant necklaces, watches and other accessories.
Gold is the feel-good metal, the serotonin of jewelry. Wear vintage and antique gold necklaces, watches, gold bracelets or gold rings and you feel happy, you feel dressed, you feel, well, yourself.
Gold, especially yellow gold, with its rich patina and ancient pedigree going back thousands of years, is the steady standby, the well-mannered metal of choice. Any discussion of this lustrous metal comes down to a basic truth: Gold is elementary, my dear. Gold jewelry that couples the mystique of the metal with superb design and craftsmanship achieves the status of an enduring classic. Many luxury houses have given us some of our most treasured and lasting examples of gold jewelry over the years.
Since its founding, in 1837, Tiffany & Co. has built its reputation on its company jewelry as well as its coterie of boutique designers, which has included Jean Schlumberger, Donald Claflin, Angela Cummings and Elsa Peretti. There are numerous gold Tiffany classics worth citing. Some are accented with gemstones, but all stand out for their design and the workmanship displayed.
For the woman who prefers a minimalist look, the Tiffany & Co. twist bangle (thin, slightly ovoid) is stylishly simple. For Cummings devotees, signature pieces feature hard stone inlay, such as her pairs of gold ear clips inlaid with black jade (a play on the classic Chanel black and tan), or bangles whose design recalls ocean waves, with undulating lines of lapis lazuli and mother-of-pearl. And just about any design by the great Jean Schlumberger is by definition a classic.
Even had he eschewed stones and diamonds, Southern-born David Webb would be hailed for the vast arsenal of heavy gold jewelry he designed. Gold, usually hammered or textured in some manner, defines great David Webb jewelry. The self-taught jeweler made very au courant pieces while drawing inspiration from ancient and out-of-the-way sources — East meets West in the commanding gold necklaces made by Webb in the early 1970s. The same could be said for his endlessly varied gold cuffs.
In Europe, many houses have given us gold jewelry that sets the highest standard for excellence, pieces that were highly sought after when they were made and continue to be so.
Numerous designs from Cartier are homages to gold. There are the classic Trinity rings, necklaces and bracelets — trifectas of yellow, white and rose gold. As a testament to the power of love, consider the endurance of the Cartier Love bracelet.
Aldo Cipullo, Cartier’s top in-house designer from the late 1960s into the early ’70s, made history in 1969 with the Love bracelet. Cipullo frequently said that the Love bracelet was born of a sleepless night contemplating a love affair gone wrong and his realization that “the only remnants he possessed of the romance were memories.” He distilled the urge to keep a loved one close into a slim 18-karat gold bangle.
BVLGARI and its coin jewelry, gemme nummarie, hit the jackpot when the line launched in the 1960s. The line has been perennially popular. BVLGARI coin jewelry features ancient Greek and Roman coins embedded in striking gold mounts, usually hung on thick link necklaces of varying lengths. In the 1970s, BVLGARI introduced the Tubogas line, most often made in yellow gold. The Tubogas watches are classics, and then there is the Serpenti, the house's outstanding snake-themed watches and bracelets.
A collection called Monete that incorporated the gold coins is one of several iconic BVLGARI lines that debuted in the 1970s and ’80s, catering to a new generation of empowered women. Just as designers like Halston and Yves Saint Laurent were popularizing fuss-free ready-to-wear fashion for women on the go, BVLGARI offered jewels to be lived in.
Since Van Cleef & Arpels opened its Place Vendôme doors in 1906, collection after collection of jewelry classics have enchanted the public. As predominantly expressed in a honeycomb of gold, there is the Ludo watch and accessories, circa the 1920s, and the golden Zip necklace, 1951, whose ingenious transformation of the traditional zipper was originally proposed by the Duchess of Windsor. Van Cleef's Alhambra, with its Moroccan motif, was introduced in 1968 and from the start its popularity pivoted on royalty and celebrity status. It remains one of VCA’s most popular and collected styles.
Mention must be made of Buccellati, whose name is synonymous with gold so finely spun that it suggests tapestry. The house’s many gold bracelets, typically embellished with a few or many diamonds, signified taste and distinction and are always in favor on the secondary market. Other important mid-20th-century houses known for their gold-themed jewelry include Hermès and Ilias Lalaounis.
Find a stunning collection of vintage and antique gold jewelry on 1stDibs.
Jewelry historian Vanessa Cron combed 1stDibs and selected some dazzling pieces with timeless appeal.
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Soak up the pleasures of the season with a these bold gems.
Get to know the history behind the world's most iconic jewelry houses and the fabulous styles they designed.