Created in Italy circa 1980, this Monete pinky ring centers an ancient coin from Massalia in Gaul, dated approximately 385–220 B.C., within a substantial bezel of polished 18k yellow gold. The dark, time-worn surface of the coin and its surviving classical profile are deliberately left visually distinct from the immaculate gold surrounding it—a contrast between archaeological texture and modern finish that lies at the heart of Bulgari’s Monete language. Bulgari began incorporating ancient Greek and Roman coins into contemporary jewels in the 1960s, championed by Nicola Bulgari, himself an enthusiastic coin collector; importantly, the house designed its mounts to follow the contours of the coins while preserving their integrity.
By 1980, Monete had become one of Bulgari’s most recognizable expressions of its relationship with antiquity: rather than treating the coin simply as an ornament, the house approached it much as it would a rare gemstone, making its age, patina, and irregularity central to the jewel. Here, that idea is distilled into the intimate scale of a pinky ring, with broad shoulders and a rounded bezel giving the ancient coin a distinctly modern architectural presence.
History is not hidden behind the gold—it remains at the very center of the jewel.
