News Rising to a height of 56 metres, the Bulgari Ginza Tower houses the largest store in the world owned by the firm, as well as a restaurant and a bar lounge.
On 30 November the Italian jeweller and watchmaker Bulgari officially opened its new store in Ginza, the prestigious luxury shopping district of Tokyo. Located at 2-7-12 Ginza, Chuo-ku, the Bulgari Tower (ten floors) houses the largest point of sale operated by the firm anywhere in the world (940 m2).
The first floor is dedicated to jewelry and watches, the second floor to accessories - handbags, small leather goods, eyewear, silk accessories, and gift items - and the third floor to a bridal salon and dedicated VIP rooms for high-end jewelry. The fourth floor has an after-sales customer assistance department, while the fifth, sixth and seventh floor are reserved to the general headquarters of Bulgari Japan.
The top three floors of the Bulgari Ginza Tower are home to "Il Ristorante," an Italian-inspired restaurant-bar operated by Bulgari. Accessible through a separate entrance and dedicated elevators, it is crowned by a rooftop terrace with an exclusive Italian-style hanging garden and lounge area. Designed by the architectural firm Antonio Citterio & Partners, "Il Ristorante" is characterized by a modern, elegant, and rigorous style that echoes the architectural and decorative motifs of the Bulgari Hotel in Milan.
The façade and interiors of the Bulgari Ginza Tower were designed by in-house Bulgari architects, while the structure, inspired by a jewel box, was designed by the Shimizu Corporation. Ten oversized display windows wrap around the perimeter of the Tower, contributing to the imposing character of the entire building. In the display windows, the warm color of the Italian wood parquet flooring contrasts with the light-hued Trani marble walls, reminiscent of Roman architecture.
In continued celebration of new spaces rooted in classical traditions, the ten windows of the Bulgari Ginza Tower are dedicated to Bulgari’s vintage museum jewels. The retrospective windows highlight ten important moments in Bulgari’s history of design by decade, starting with silver objects from the late 1800s to the Art Deco era of the 1920s and 1930s, the Pop Art movement of the 1970s to present day.
To celebrate the opening, Bulgari also presented an extraordinary collection of over 110 exceptional one of a kind jewels including a unique emerald cut diamond over 80cts, the magnificent long life over 144cts sapphire and a rare over 25cts blue diamond, besides a special edition of jewelry designed for the opening: from necklaces with ancient Roman coins to diamond pavé rings.
Francesco Trapani, Chief Executive Officer of the Bulgari Group, thus commented: "I am particularly proud of this major new space in one of the most prestigious districts of Tokyo. Bulgari has always had a strong link with Japan since it opened its first store in this country over 20 years ago. Since then, the Bulgari brand has enjoyed great success in Japan, which accounted for 25% of the Group's total turnover in 2006. The Japanese market has always been key to Bulgari as the place to launch new products, given the renowned passion and attention devoted by Japanese customers to quality, design, and image. This is why we decided to open our biggest store in the world here."
Bulgari stores in Japan account for 34 in all and are located in the following, major 13 cities: Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo, Yokohama, Chiba, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Okayama, Hiroshima, Matsuyama, and Fukuoka.
January 11, 2008
