It Was a Jewel of a Book Party

The Scene: Bulgari, the Italian jewelry house, hosted what must have been the world’s most elaborate book party on Thursday night for the release of “Bulgari,” the company’s extensive coffee table book. (If you can’t afford one of their baubles, consider the book at $75.) The evening also coincided with the reopening this week of Bulgari’s Rodeo Drive shop, three times larger than before. The fete was a benefit for Starbright Foundation, a children’s charity.

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Ambience and Pastimes: A tennis court was transformed into a Roman garden with Renaissance architectural fragments at Tower Grove Estate, Mark and Gale Slatkin’s new, Old World-style mansion in Beverly Hills. Patina prepared the four-course Italian meal, which was followed by grappa and the now familiar cigar course. And going home with a book wasn’t enough; celebrity photographer Firooz Zahedi was hired to take portraits of each of the 240 guests (done in couples) as a souvenir.

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Who Was There: Bulgari’s special customers, Starbright supporters and the usual smattering of Hollywood stars, plus, well, the spirit of Eva Peron. Andrew Vajna, president of Cinergi Pictures Entertainment and one of the producers of “Evita,” introduced a 10-minute reel that was prepared for distributors in Cannes. The Bulgari connection? Peron was a very good Bulgari customer, and Bulgari also made jewelry for the film. The other connection? Vajna has given his companion, Csilla Somogyi, gifts of Bulgari jewels. “Not enough, honey. Not enough,” Somogyi quickly interjected.

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The Buzz: Naturally, most women unlocked their best jewelry for the evening, which made for some frayed nerves. Transported in buses to the party site, several people worried for their safety. “We could have all been kidnapped and who would know?” Harriet Beck said. Henry Berger noted that wife Jayne’s 18-karat gold Bulgari evening bag (which could do double duty for weightlifting) makes for a great weapon. “If you get held up, you just swing it and go,” he said.

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Quoted: Angela Bassett, whose character wore Bulgari jewelry in “Waiting to Exhale,” admitted, “I was hoping to keep what I wore in the movie, but it was too beautiful and they had to have it back.”

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Triumph: Centerpieces sprouting roses, tulips and dahlias and asparagus with radishes and kiwi and lemon slices floating inside the glass vases. Party Planners West’s Pat Ryan said the idea was inspired by the giant glass jars filled with marinated fruits and vegetables seen in Italian restaurants.