When I was in Rome last summer, I’d visited the birthplace of the Roman Empire, which, at its peak, stretched from Portugal in the west to Mesopotamia in the east, and from North Africa in the south to Britain in the north. The grandeur of the Gladiator films is still present in the Rome of today, albeit in subtler ways. The city, once home to grand temples and palaces, now stands as a patchwork of history. These flourishes of antiquity reveal themselves in the wall mosaics of the Baths of Caracalla, the triumphal arches of the Forum and the Corinthian columns of the Colosseum. Now imagine these rich elements transformed into a statement necklace: a
mosaic of memories finding their form in gleaming gemstones and sculpted metal.
This craftsmanship was on display in Dubai, where Bvlgari arrived to showcase its Aeterna high jewellery collection, launched in Rome last year. Given the location, a finely constructed necklace from the Jannah (which means paradise) collection made an appearance, abstracting the floral motifs of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi. And of course, the celebrated Serpenti: two snakes guarding a watch face encrusted in a bracelet in one piece, snakes twirled in a way that defies the laws of metalwork on a necklace in another.
Later that evening, accompanied by Mark, my guide, I was educated about the unification process of the seven Emirates, regaled with tales of the sheikh who allowed a sparrow to nest in his Ferrari and even told the secrets hidden in the undulating dunes of the Al Marmoom Desert. We reached the spice souks across Dubai Creek via an open-air wooden boat, locally known as an abra. There were heaps of Iranian saffron, vanilla sticks from Madagascar, Sri Lankan cinnamon and a tea called maca, which the seller claimed has aphrodisiacal properties. At the Jumeirah Archaeological Site, dating back to the 10th century, there were no aphrodisiacs, at least none that seem to have survived the brutal winds of time. Between the glazed pottery and the earthen jars, there were perhaps whispers of stories exchanged by travellers at what was once a caravanserai.
