The History of Tubogas
Carlo Weingrill is known for his expertise in crafting Tubogas jewelry. The brand has a long history of producing exquisite pieces using this technique, and Carlo Weingrill is credited with pioneering the technique in the 1930s.
A distinctive aesthetic of Tubogas was obtained from the gas pipes design. Bulgari adopted this look in 1940s with the help of Carlo Weingrill, who contributed his designer’s vision to the cause. As the name implied, the Tubogas style is flexible and adaptable to any jewelry form, from rings to watches. The actual tubogas technique, which was a plumbing manufacturing process, came from the 19th century. The technique required wrapping metal in tight coils around a central rode that was later removed, allowing to make a hollow chain. In the 1940s this process inspired a few French makers and Bulgari (in collaboration with Weingrill) to massively use this principle in jewelry making. The Tubogas technique was used for the famous Bulgari watch series called Serpenti. It symbolizes snake, a widely popular element in ancient Roman culture.
About Carlo Weingrill
Carlo Weingrill is a jewelry house based in Verona. The house, that was found in 1879, has been family owned by four generations of jewelers. Passing family traditions of workmanship is a staple of Italian jewelry making. In the 1930s Carlo Weingrill’s two sons turned the jewelry workshop into a major maker with worldwide recognition. The Maison was especially famous for its Art Nouveau floral motifs. The brand contributed many significant geometric shapes to define the Art Deco period. In the 1970s Carlo’s granddaughter Paula took over the leadership. Today her son Carlofilippo Weingrill runs the company that represents the heritage of Italian goldsmiths.
Their high-quality pieces have been sought after in the last few decades. Carlo Weingrill is known as the original manufacturer of the most recognizable jewelry designs such as the Trinity bangle bracelet for Cartier, and, perhaps most notably, Bulgari’s Tubogas necklaces, bracelets, and rings. The classic Weingrill rolling bracelet, designed in the late 1980s, is a tubogas version of the Trinity bracelet Weingrill made for Cartier from the 1920s to the 1940s.
