Staying In Style

Behind one Milan warehouse's steel doors is the full-scale mock-up of a room that will serve as the template for the first hotel to bear the Bulgari brand name. Scheduled to open in Milan in January 2004, the hotel represents a gamble for CEO Francesco Trapani, but he's trying to be cool about it. "If it does well, it's another good hotel," he says. "If it does poorly, it's the end of the story. If it does particularly well, then it can change both our industries."

When Bulgari announced two years ago that it was forming a joint...