Highlighted by Bulgari ambassador Priyanka Chopra Jonas, the new documentary film An Emperor’s Jewel — The Making of the Bulgari Hotel Roma gorgeously documents the creation of one of the most beautiful new places to stay in Italy.
Speaking with Cosmopolitan United, Bulgari CEO Jean-Christophe Babin says the latest Bulgari hotel shares a few traits with the legendary jeweler’s just-released high-jewelry collection, chief among them: “We always approach it with the idea of creating the best ever,” says Babin, the brand’s global CEO since 2013. “The sky is the limit.”
In Aeterna — the 150-piece high-jewelry collection that debuted on May 20 in Rome with Anne Hathaway and Chopra Jonas in attendance — that translates to an abundance of diamonds, emeralds and other gemstones, while the latest Bulgari Hotel takes that “sky’s the limit” notion to the next level. The Bulgari Hotel Roma opened its doors in June 2023 and has been conceived as the ultimate statement in resort accommodations, pointedly so, as it resides in the city the jeweler has called home since 1884.
In the new film — which premieres in L.A. on Tuesday at Neuehouse Hollywood — there are hints of jewelry splashed throughout its one-hour running time. The sparkle is courtesy of an appearance by Chopra Jonas, a Bulgari global ambassador since 2021; the actress bookends the film in scenes that show her striding through the resort’s elegant lobby, its plush 300-square-meter Bulgari suite and the expansive rooftop with 360-degree vistas of Rome. In several of these moments, Chopra Jonas wears the showcase piece of the high-jewelry collection, the Augustus Aeternus Emerald Monete Sautoir, a statement necklace that highlights a roman coin from the era of Augustus, who reigned as Rome’s first emperor from 27 B.C. until his death in A.D. 14. The coin is set in 18-karat yellow gold and surrounded by 149 emerald beads totaling 615.04 carats, buff-top emeralds totaling 16.53 carats and pavé-set diamonds totaling 40.69 carats.
