BVLGARI Jewelry Show at the Grand Palais

Well, it has been a couple of days since I have the time to get a few pictures together and share my impressions of Paris and all of its glory, but today I did have my first two classes...

First, I should say that I am skipping over Saturday and our tour of Montmartre and exciting experience at the SFR phone store, but never fear, I will return to those topics soon.

On Sunday, my fellow Art Institute faculty/chaperone, Whitney and I went to the Grand Palais and saw the Bulgari Jewelry show that ends on Wednesday January 10. Many people had the same idea and thus we waited in a line to buy our tickets and had a lovely coversation with a Parisian woman. It was half in English and half in French, poor French, but we are trying really hard to converse in the language of the land. We got our tickets but had 4-5 hours until we could enter the show so we set off across the bridge and wandered around Invalides (more on that later). The Musee D'Orsay is also in the neighborhood so we did some scouting for our classes and then had a bite to eat. We dabbled in a few tourist shops and then found a really interesting place with distinctly European products. We set off back across the Seine and I ascertained that the Ferris wheel costs 10 Euro to ride. It was not the right time but that will be another lovely adventure on a sunny day.

The show was an extravaganza of glitz and glamor. It featured 125 years of designs from the Italian design house of Bulgari. The interior space was very crowded and we moved for awhile at a snail's pace. People were avidly listening to their audio guides pressed against the glass and salivating at the sparkling gems. Stepping slightly to their sides we moved in to see the pieces that were of great interest and thus saw the show at a much better pace.

My mother often looks at some of my own jewelry designs and states, "to much bling for me!" and that is how I felt at this show, overwhelmed. Several pieces, I really loved but for the most part, I guess I cannot fathom wearing that much money on my person, I would be terrified to move!

Elizabeth Taylor's collection was featured and she had no fear, she wore the jewelry well, and probably still does. I really liked the serpent bracelet/watch that Taylor owns/owned, and later in the exhibition there was a whole set of serpent bracelet/watches.

On some of the walls there were rows of TV's showing movie clips of actresses wearing the pieces from various eras.

The central interior area was meant to look like a faceted black stone. Often photographing reflections, this was an incredible visual spectacle. The Grand Palais was created for the Exposition Universalle of Paris in 1900 and now features travelling exhibitions. Currently, there is also a Monet show and a Renaissance exhibit, thus I will be returning soon!

As we left the show, it was already dark and we were truly lucky that they have not yet taken down the lights from the Champs-Elysees.

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