The house spells itself BVLGARI in Roman capitals, and half the fakes spell it wrong.
Founded 1884Rome5 weighted checks
Bulgari signs its jewellery BVLGARI, using the classical Roman V for U, and it is one of the very few houses where a counterfeit sometimes fails on spelling alone. Where it does not, the read moves to the logo's letterforms — the proportions of the V and the G are specific — and to the hallmarking.
The house's signature designs are the B.zero1 ring, built as a spiral with the logo repeated around the edges, and the Serpenti line. Both have geometry that copies get subtly wrong.
Bulgari uses Italian hallmarking conventions alongside its own signature and a serial, and its boutiques will inspect pieces submitted for service.
Pieces are signed BVLGARI — and on some vintage production BULGARI with a U, which is genuine and belongs to an earlier convention. The signature is struck into the metal crisply and level, with the letterforms correctly proportioned.
Alongside it sit the metal hallmark, an Italian assay mark where applicable, and a serial. All should be struck or engraved cleanly at even depth. Laser-printed marks that look correct in a photograph and shallow under a loupe are the ordinary counterfeit failure.
Bulgari boutiques inspect pieces submitted for service and decline work on anything not genuine. No public serial lookup exists.
Ordered by how much each one settles. The decisive checks are the ones worth your first five minutes; the supporting ones only matter once those are clean.
BVLGARI with a Roman V, struck level and crisply, with correctly proportioned letters. Vintage pieces may read BULGARI, which is genuine. What is not genuine is a signature that is laser-etched, uneven in depth, or subtly wrong in the width of the V or the shape of the G.
The B.zero1 is built as a continuous spiral with the logo repeated around both edges. On genuine work the spiral is even, the bands are of consistent thickness, and the repeated logo is uniformly spaced and identically struck all the way round. Variation in spacing or strike depth around the ring is decisive.
Metal content mark, assay mark where applicable, and a serial, all struck or engraved at even depth with sharp edges. Have the metal tested; it settles the hallmark question for a few dollars.
Bulgari uses coloured stones heavily and sets them flush and securely. Stones that rattle, settings with visible adhesive, or 'gemstones' with the perfect uniformity of glass are all failures.
Solid gold or steel with a defined density, polished evenly with no casting pits, including on interior surfaces. Roughness where nobody is expected to look is the reliable place to catch a copy.
Bulgari counterfeits concentrate on the B.zero1 and the Serpenti, and the B.zero1's repeated logo is the most useful feature on either: reproducing an identical strike a dozen times around a ring is a manufacturing discipline that casting cannot deliver.
The spelling check is worth making first because it costs nothing and it still catches a surprising number.
Each of these is checked differently. The ones with their own page have enough that is specific to them to be worth reading separately.
A coiled snake in articulated scales, where the articulation is the read.
Read within the checks aboveA fan motif drawn from Roman mosaics, where stone inlay quality decides it.
Read within the checks aboveAuthenticity and value are separate questions, and answering the first is usually a step towards the second. These are broad ranges for honest, unrestored condition — an orientation, never an appraisal.
| Line | Resale as share of retail | What moves it most |
|---|---|---|
| B.zero1 | 40 – 60% | Gold content, condition |
| Serpenti | 40 – 65% | Articulation, stone condition |
| Divas' Dream | 35 – 55% | Inlay condition |
| High jewellery | Highly variable | Stones and documentation |
Broad international ranges. Metal content puts a floor under most pieces.
Lovenhall DiamondThe checks tell you how it was made. The instrument tells you what it appears to be, and roughly what its kind fetches.