Brunching with Diamonds, an International Scion and Texas’ Family of Jewelers — de Boulle Introduces a U.S. First

Denis Boulle of the de Boulle jewelry family enjoys being the first to recognize and then embrace the new, new thing. In fact, as the Boules were introducing fine jewelry aficionados to new on the United States scene Giorgio Bulgari over lunch at Bari, he noted that he was among the first investors in the wildly popular Italian restaurant in River Oaks District.

The district has been home to the Houston branch of Dallas’ de Boulle Diamond & Jewelry since 2015, business so successful that in 2022 the store moved to larger quarters to feature a new Rolex Boutique at de Boulle.

The charming Bulgari, great-grandson of the founder of the Rome-based jewelry house and son of Gianni Bulgari, who headed the heritage brand from the 1960s to the 1980s, was in town for two days meeting de Boulle friends and clients. The younger Bulgari, who has been creating designs for private clients since 2017, launched his own brand Giorgio B in early 2023. Not to be confused with Bulgari, the jewelry brand which was taken over by LVMH in 2011.

Giorgio Bulgari was born in New York, reared in Rome, educated at Boston University and calls Geneva home.

It was during COVID, Bulgari told the chic clutch, that he started thinking about collections, “my designs on a white canvas which took two years to develop.” He introduced Palma and Goocia at a trunk show in Gstaad in February 2023. Three days before the Oscars, actress Sharon Stone reached out to wear the dazzling diamond-encrusted Palma earrings for red carpet moments.

Suddenly, Giorgio B was on the map.

The Palma collection in brushed gold is inspired by palm fronds while Goocia showcases the bold contemporary curves of a special enamel punctuated with tiny gold beads. One of a kind pieces in the collection include three rings in brushed gold featuring a yellow sapphire, a peach tourmaline and a mint tourmaline.

While the femmes dined on Bari’s voluptuous Italian food, the must-have pieces were circulated around tables with the guests encouraged to try them on. So enchanted with the pieces were the ladies that several made purchases that afternoon.

Of his migration from bespoke jewels to collections, Bulgari notes: “It was time for me now to follow my own path. “People ask is this Bulgari? This is Bulgari because this is really the essence of Bulgari.”

“Bulgari started not really to come about until the 1960s. Before, they were mimicking a lot of the other jewelry. Then in the ’60s they started making this bold, colorful jewelry and they always followed architecture, geometry, symmetry and all these elements you can find in my jewelry.

“I take something from nature, but I stylize it. The palm trees, the blades are very stylized. They’re very strong. I want something recognizable that people can see. The volumes, the treatments of gold these are all things that are very much Bulgari. So for me this is a contemporary take on a DNA which has been going on now for a century.”

Following lunch, the entourage assembled at the Houston jewelry store for serious shopping and Italian gelato from Amorino, also a River Oaks District staple.

PC Seen: Karen Boulle, Emma Boulle, Allison Bereswill Boulle and Nick Boulle, Emily Catherine Riggs, Anooshea Taghdisi, Fenche Shen, Genny McIntyre, Bethany Buchanan, Kim Bereswill, Molly Pritzker, Jill Belland, Judy Schuler, Tori Schuler, and Monica Bickers.