. for the instrument see bulgari instrument . bulgari s.p.a. headquarters in rome type privately held societ per azioni industry retail founded 1884 ; 132 years ago 1884 founder sotirios voulgaris headquarters rome italy key people paolo bulgari chairman jean christophe babin ceo products jewellery watches accessories fragrances cosmetics revenue 1.069 billion 2010 1 operating income 85.3 million 2010 1 profit 38.0 million 2010 1 total assets 1.490 billion end 2010 1 total equity 934.0 million end 2010 1 owner lvmh 50 4 % number of employees 3 815 end 2010 1 website www.bulgari.com bulgari italian pronunciation bul ari ; stylised as bvlgari is an italian jewelry and luxury goods brand that produces and markets several product lines including jewelry watches fragrances accessories and hotels . contents 1 etymology 2 history 2.1 bulgari hotel 3 designs 4 boutiques 5 wristwatches 6 community 7 references 8 external links etymology edit the trademark is usually written bvlgari in the classical latin alphabet and is derived from the surname of the company s greek founder sotir bulgari greek greek pronunciation so tir vul ari italian sotir bulgari 1857 1932 . the name voulgaris itself contains the root word greek for bulgarian . furthermore in the company s native italy the word bulgari means bulgarians or people of bulgarian descent . 2 history edit sotirios boulgaris greek pronounced so tir os vul aris born in an aromanian village known as kalarites began his career as a jeweller in his home village paramythia 3 epirus greece where his first store can still be seen . in 1877 he left for corfu and then naples . in 1881 he finally moved to rome where in 1884 he founded his company and opened his second shop in via sistina . the store in via sistina was then replaced by the current flagship store in via dei condotti opened in 1905 by bulgari with the help of his two sons costantino 1889 1973 and giorgio 1890 1966 . citation needed a bulgari shop in baku azerbaijan during the second world war costantino bulgari and his wife laura hid three jewish women in their own roman home . they were strangers to them ; the bulgaris opened their doors out of outrage for the raid of the roman ghetto in october 1943 . for their generous action on 31 december 2003 they were awarded the title of righteous among the nations at yad vashem in jerusalem . 4 after giorgio s death in 1966 his son gianni led the company as co chief executive with his cousin marina . 5 as chairman and ceo of bulgari in the early 1970s gianni initiated the internationalization of the company by opening shops in new york geneva monte carlo and paris . in the late 1970s gianni led a complete overhaul of the company establishing a new watch business and focusing on product design . 6 in 1985 gianni resigned as ceo and in 1987 he left the family business after selling his one third stake in the company to his brothers nicola and paolo . 7 bulgari opened its first international locations in new york city paris geneva and monte carlo in the 1970s . for many years the company maintained a showroom in new york s the pierre hotel . in 1984 sotirio s grandsons paolo and nicola bulgari were named chairman and vice chairman of the company and nephew francesco trapani was named ceo . trapani s goal to diversify the company was started in the early 1990s with the release of the bulgari perfume line . under his tenure the company has established itself as a luxury goods brand recognized throughout the world . in 1995 the company was listed on the borsa italiana . the company has seen 150 % revenue growth between 1997 and 2003 . on 6 march 2011 french luxury group lvmh moet hennessy louis vuitton sa announced that it was acquiring bulgari spa in an all share deal for 4.3 billion 6.01 billion higher than lvmh had offered for any other company . 8 under the deal the bulgari family sold their 50.4 per cent controlling stake in exchange for 3 per cent of lvmh thereby becoming the second biggest family shareholder behind the arnaults in lvmh . 9 the takeover doubled the size of lvmh s watches and jewellery unit which at the time of the acquisition included tag heuer timepieces and de beers diamond necklaces . the acquisition concluded on 4 october 2011 as bulgari was delisted from the borsa italiana . bulgari hotel edit in the beginning of 2001 . bulgari spa formed a joint venture with luxury group the luxury division of marriott international which also manages the ritz carlton hotel company l.l.c. to launch a new luxury hotel brand bulgari hotels & resorts . bulgari opened its first hotel in milan in 2004 a resort in bali in 2006 followed by a hotel in london in 2012 with a further hotel scheduled to open in shanghai 10 in 2015 . in 2011 bulgari bali has been chosen by the readers of smart travel asia magazine as number 2 of top places to stay in asia . current locations include milan london and bali with restaurants in osaka and tokyo . future locations will include shanghai beijing dubai and moscow . 11 designs edit this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . february 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message bulgari jewelry design is distinctive and often imitated and counterfeited . in the 1970s many of the more expensive bulgari pieces such as necklaces bracelets and earrings were characterized by instantly recognizable bold architectural designs combining large and weighty gold links with interlocking steel . bulgari is also famous for colored stones especially sapphires mixed in unique formats . genuine bulgari watches have a unique serial number that is registered with the company . boutiques edit bulgari relies on a distribution network of about 300 stores located in the most exclusive shopping areas in the world . the largest bulgari store in the world is the 10 story bulgari ginza tower in tokyo 940 square meters of retail floor space including a restaurant and lounge bar . north american bulgari boutiques and distributors are found in aspen atlanta beverly hills bal harbour boca raton bethesda chevy chase charlotte chicago costa mesa dallas honolulu houston new york las vegas los angeles mexico city cabo san lucas . mx montreal palm beach san francisco short hills and scottsdale arizona . 12 south american bulgari distributors are found in lima bogot s o paulo margarita island & quito . wristwatches edit the company s swiss subsidiary bulgari haute horlogerie sa is responsible for bulgari watch production . it was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in neuch tel. bulgari haute horlogerie sa employs about 500 people . bulgari develops its own calibers and parts including highly complicated mechanisms and basic calibers . the bulgari watch collection comprises the following lines bulgari bulgari sotirio bulgari assioma astrale serpenti b.zero1 daniel roth rettangolo ergon g rald genta serpenti and diagono and octo . at baselworld 2006 bulgari unveiled the complicated assioma multi complication watch equipped with tourbillon perpetual calendar and second time zone . 13 community edit between 2009 and 2011 bulgari donated 13 million euros to save the children . by the end of 2011 the partnership was renewed . so far the donation has directly reached 334 101 children trained 9 899 teachers and provided rehabilitation activities in 206 schools . references edit a b c d e f annual report 2010 pdf . bulgari . retrieved 19 may 2011 . bulgari . history and pictures from . paramythia online.gr . retrieved 2014 06 14 . israel gutman bracha rivlin e liliana picciotto i giusti d italia i non ebrei che salvarono gli ebrei 1943 45 mondadori milano 2006 pp. 75 76 . bulgari the man the enigma . the age . 8 january 2007 . gianni bulgari . enigma . bulgari s.p.a. . international directory of company histories . 106 . 2010 . andrew roberts and tara lachapelle 7 march 2011 bulgari takeover 82 % costlier than hermes for lvmh real m & a business week . paul betts 7 march 2011 bulgari is new jewel in lvmh crown financial times . bvlgari hotel & resorts shanghai 2017 overview . bvlgari hotel & resorts . retrieved 14 august 2013 . bali top holiday spot in asia poll . 7 september 2011 . scottsdale fashion square bulgari watch production review . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to bulgari . official website bulgari u.s. site bulgari hotels and resorts companies portal v t e designer labels etienne aigner akris armani aspinal asprey max azria badgley mischka balenciaga balmain victoria beckham laura biagiotti manolo blahnik ozwald boateng hugo boss burberry tory burch cacharel ally capellino pierre cardin cartier cavalli c line chanel chlo jimmy choo dior s. t. dupont dolce & gabbana adolfo dom nguez dsquared2 escada etro fendi salvatore ferragamo gianfranco ferr fiorucci tom ford fossil diane von f rstenberg jean paul gaultier givenchy gottex goyard gucci heatherette daniel hechter herm s herrera tommy hilfiger marc jacobs donna karan kenzo calvin klein michael kors lacoste lacroix karl lagerfeld helmut lang lanvin guy laroche ralph lauren yves saint laurent judith leiber nanette lepore monique lhuillier phillip lim loewe longchamp christian louboutin l o marciano maison margiela lana marks marni stella mccartney alexander mcqueen carlos miele issey miyake missoni moschino mouawad moynat thierry mugler mulberry fred perry pinto zac posen prada emilio pucci paco rabanne oscar de la renta rochas sonia rykiel elie saab sabyasachi proenza schouler paul smith kate spade anna sui elie tahari samantha thavasa tiffany s tony bowls valentino giambattista valli kris van assche john varvatos versace viktor & rolf louis vuitton alexander wang vera wang vivienne westwood jason wu dan liu wooyoungmi giuseppe zanotti rachel zoe ermenegildo zegna v t e lvmh board of directors albert fr re antoine arnault bernadette chirac bernard arnault charles powell charles de croisset delphine arnault diego della valle felix rohatyn gilles hennessy hubert v drine yves thibault de silguy fashion and leather goods berluti c line donna karan international eluxury emilio pucci fendi givenchy kenzo loewe louis vuitton marc jacobs stefanobi thomas pink perfumes and cosmetics acqua di parma benefit cosmetics fresh guerlain kenzo parfums labrosse et dupont make up for ever parfums christian dior parfums givenchy perfumes loewe retailing le bon march dfs galleria la samaritaine sephora miami cruiseline starboard cruise services watches and jewellery bulgari chaumet dior watches fred joaillier hublot tag heuer zenith wines and spirits 10 cane rum ardbeg distillery belvedere cape mentelle vineyards dom p rignon domaine chandon california ch teau d yquem cloudy bay vineyards hennessy champagne krug champagne mercier mo t et chandon newton vineyard ruinart veuve clicquot glenmorangie 66 % wenjun other connaissance des arts investir les chos radio classique royal van lent v t e marriott international marriott corporation 1929 1993 marriott international 1992 luxury bulgari hotels & resorts jw marriott renaissance hotels ritz carlton full service ac hotels autograph collection delta hotels edition hotels gaylord hotels marriott hotels & resorts moxy hotels focused service short term lodging courtyard fairfield inn springhill suites extended stay lodging execustay residence inn towneplace suites vacation ownership marriott vacations worldwide grand residence club marriott vacation club ritz carlton destination club loyalty program marriott rewards retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title bulgari & oldid 740929247 categories 1884 establishments in italyclothing brands of italycompanies established in 1884fashion accessory brandshigh fashion brandshotel and leisure companiesitalian brandsitalian jewellersjewellery companies of italyjewellery retailers of italyluxury brandsperfume houseswatch brandswatch manufacturing companies of italywatch movement manufacturershidden categories use dmy dates from june 2011articles containing greek language textarticles containing italian language textall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from april