Sotirios Vulgaris (Sotirio Bulgari) began his career as a jeweller in his home village Paramythia (Epirus, Greece), where his first store is still to be seen.
In 1877 he left Greece for Corfu and then Naples.
In 1881 he finally moved to Rome, where in 1884 he founded his company and opened his first shop in via Sistina.
The current flagship store in via dei Condotti was opened in 1905 by Bulgari with the help of his two sons,
Constantino (1889-1973) and Giorgio (1890-1966).
The store quickly became a place where the world's rich and famous came for the unique, high quality jewelry
designs combining Greek and Roman art.
During the Second World War, Costantino Bulgari and his wife, Laura Bulgari, 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 December 31, 2003, they were awarded the title of
Righteous among the Nations at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.
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 Hotel Pierre.
Today Bulgari has more than 230 retail locations worldwide.
In 1984 Sotirios' 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.
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, almost brutal designs combining large and
weighty gold links with black-surfaced steel.
Genuine Bulgari items usually have a unique serial number that is registered with the company.
The company's Swiss subsidiary, Bulgari Time S.A., is responsible for Bulgari watch production.
It was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Neuchatel. Bulgari Time SA employs about 500 people.
Today, Bulgari watches make up approximately 29% of the company's total turnover.
Bulgari has started developing its own calibers and parts, including highly complicated mechanisms and basic calibers.
The Bulgari watch collection comprises the following lines: Bulgari-Bulgari, Assioma, Rettangolo, Ergon, and Diagono.
At BaselWorld 2006 Bulgari unveiled the complicated Assioma Multi Complication watch, equipped with tourbillon,
perpetual calendar and second time zone.