Marina B Tourmaline Diamond Ring

No stranger to fanciful, bold jewelry designs, Marina Bulgari is the granddaughter of the founder of the legendary luxury house BVLGARI. In the 1970s, she established her own brand, Marina B, and her vibrantly colored, exclusive accessories were widely coveted by jewelry lovers of the 1980s. The same goes for the collectors of today. 

When her grandfather Sotirios passed away in 1932, Marina Bulgari’s father Constantino took over the iconic jewelry house alongside his brother Giorgio. Since she was a child, her passion for art and design was wholly enriched and broadened thanks to the historically celebrated family business that was growing in popularity around her. She studied at Saint Mary’s College in England and upon graduating began to contribute her own designs to BVLGARI. When her uncle Giorgio died in 1966, Marina began to help run the business. When her father passed away in 1973, she took his place at the luxury house and remained there for three more years before striking out on her own.

The first Marina B boutique opened in Geneva in 1978. In the years that followed, more locations were established in Milan, New York City and Paris. Marina’s brand embodied luxurious, easy-to-wear jewelry — for women, by women. Women of the era were newly independent, and the jewelry industry — its workshops, boutiques, and other areas of the business —  had long been led by men. Alongside Marina, the likes of Elsa Peretti, Angela Cummings and a range of others whose work is still being brought to light today would change that.   

Elizabeth Taylor — a dedicated enthusiast of BVLGARI’s dazzling eye candy and the sinuous snake motif that has come to be synonymous with the brand — was among the high-profile admirers of Marina B jewelry in its early days, and her accessories could frequently be seen as part of Taylor’s red carpet ensembles. Marina drew on Japanese and Byzantine traditions and created adornments that were stylized and graphic. Her work was fresh and innovative — for her Pneu collection, she created earrings that could be worn as either drop earrings or studs and in 1980, she unveiled a unique gem cut she called the Chestnut, which landed somewhere between a trilliant cut and a pear cut. This would become a signature of the brand.

Marina introduced other major collections such as the Shirine in 1984 as well as the Atomo and Cardan collections in 1989 before retiring during the 1990s. Ahmed Fitahihi, a Saudi Arabian sheik, bought the company in 1999 before it changed hands again in 2011 when it was acquired by the chief executive of Windsor Jewelers, Paul Lubetsky. In 2017,  Italian-born French jewelry designer Guy Bedarida — an alum of Boucheron, Van Cleef & Arpels and a former creative director at John Hardy — took over as majority shareholder and creative director at the band. 

Hollywood starlets how found a lot to love about Marina’s designs over the years. In addition to Elizabeth Taylor, her work was worn by Sophia Loren and Grace Kelly. Marina B choker necklaces are popular among contemporary musicians like Rihanna who wore one at the opening ceremony of Rihanna Drive in Barbados and Alicia Keys, who donned a Marina B choker at her 2013 Superbowl performance. 

Find Marina B earrings, rings, necklaces and bracelets on 1stDibs.

Antique and vintage rings have long held a special place in the hearts of fine jewelry lovers all over the world.

No matter their origin or specific characteristics, rings are timeless, versatile accessories. They’ve carried deep meaning since at least the Middle Ages, when diamond rings symbolized strength and other kinds of rings were worn to signify romantic feelings or to denote an affiliation with a religious order. Rings have also forever been emblematic of eternity.

Over time, rings have frequently taken the form of serpents, which have long been associated with eternal life, health and renewal. Italian luxury jewelry house Bulgari has become famous for its widely loved Serpenti motif, for example, and its Serpenti ring, like the other accessories in the collection, began as an homage to jewelry of the Roman and Hellenistic eras. The serpent is now a popular motif in fine jewelry. Jewelry devotees have long pined for rings adorned with reptiles, thanks to antique Victorian rings — well, specifically, Queen Victoria’s illustrious engagement ring, which took the form of a gold snake set with rubies, diamonds and an emerald (her birthstone). Designs for Victorian-era engagement rings often featured repoussé work and chasing, in which patterns are hammered into the metal.

Engagement rings, which are reliably intimidating to shop for, are still widely recognized as symbols of love and commitment. On 1stDibs, a range of buying guides can be found for those in the market for antique engagement rings, vintage engagement rings or Art Deco engagement rings. 

The most collectible antique engagement rings and vintage engagement rings are those from the Victorian, Edwardian and Art Deco eras. Named for the monarchies of the four King Georges, who in succession ruled England starting in 1714 (plus King William’s reign), antique Georgian rings, be they engagement rings or otherwise, are also coveted by collectors. Pearls, along with colored gemstones like garnets, rubies and sapphires, were widely used in Georgian jewelry. The late-1700s paste jewelry was a predecessor to what we now call fashion or costume jewelry. 

The Art Nouveau movement (1880–1910) brought with it rings inspired by the natural world. Antique Art Nouveau rings might feature depictions of winged insects and fauna as well as women, who were simultaneously eroticized and romanticized, frequently with long flowing hair. Art Deco jewelry, on the other hand, which originated during the 1920s and ’30s, is by and large “white jewelry.” White metals, primarily platinum, were favored over yellow gold in the design of antique Art Deco rings and other accessories as well as geometric motifs, with women drawn to the era’s dazzling cocktail rings in particular.

Whether you’re hunting down a chunky classic for a Prohibition-themed cocktail party or seeking a clean contemporary design to complement your casual ensemble, find an exquisite collection of antique, new and vintage rings on 1stDibs.