Inside the Bulgari Kaleidos exhibition celebrating vibrant high jewellery in Shanghai

Bulgari is the jeweller that perhaps, more than any other, is known for its bold and unexpected colour combinations – chromatic clashes, you may even call them – but the house’s love affair with vivid hues only began in the mid-40s and truly blossomed in the 50s.

During World War II, when platinum had to be mainly used for weaponry, Western jewellers turned to yellow gold. While Bulgari’s French counterparts – based in Paris’ Place Vendôme – returned to platinum after the conflict, the Italian maison continued its predilection for yellow gold, which looks best when paired with coloured gems, Gislain Aucremanne, Bulgari’s heritage curator director, explained in an interview in Shanghai.