In 1987, Martine Hul was living in Antwerp as a student studying physiotherapy when she began working at Louis Reichman’s famous jewelry store, Juweel Design Barucci. It wasn’t long before she was promoted to full-time employee and given the highly coveted task of going to trade fairs to select jewelry for the store. The story goes that on her first trip, Hul returned with a collection that shocked Reichman and he demanded to know who would buy it. By the end of the day, every last item Hul selected had sold.
Not long after that, Hul began trying her hand at designing her own jewelry. In 2000, she left her mark in the world of jewelry design when she created earrings with lines of pavé stones. This technique, which uses smaller and therefore less costly stones, allowed her to experiment with different designs while keeping costs low; she also introduced a new, younger audience to diamond jewelry while giving them the ability to choose how many rows of diamonds they wanted.
Hul sought to create pieces that were feminine and wearable. Inspired by her belief in harmony and the Chinese philosophy of Feng Shui, she founded Hulchi Belluni in October of 2001. Taken from the Italian “bella luna”, meaning “beautiful moon”, Belluni represents the source of creative energy, mysterious romance, and pure emotions. To Hul, the moon symbolizes good luck and is the heart of all her pieces, where the positive Chi energy is centered. “Hulchi” is a literal combination of her name and this energy. Every item Hul designs follows the rules of Feng Shui so that it presents a visible, balanced interaction between all five Feng Shui elements. The bubble of living energy, such as within wood, the blaze and radiance of fire, that is somehow quenched by the essential wave of water, all culminate to bestow upon earth a certain romance overflowing in peace and luxuriousness of precious metals. Hul and her team not only use these guidelines as the basis for the creation of their collections, they apply these principles to their office and show booths to ensure singularity in each and every interaction with Hulchi Belluni.
In the spring of 2006 , the birth of “BELLUCCI” was announced, a line of jewelry that features Hul’s signature “invisible setting”, in which a notch in each stone’s girdle slips into a metal grid below the surface. This creates a continuous surface of diamonds with no gold visible between the stones and is completely unique to the Bellucci line. This and the pavé setting are two signature styles you will see when you choose Hulchi, in addition to each piece being made of 18 karat gold. Over twenty years of experience and fifteen different collections have developed Hul’s notable style into a line of jewelry that she hopes radiates chi and brings balance to the body.
Explore our selection of Hulchi Bellini at Shreve & Co. in Palo Alto today!
