Bvlgari Unveils The New Serpenti Watch

From the ancient Egyptians to the Greeks and Romans, the snake was a powerful symbol of life and rebirth in art, mythology and folklore. Beginning in the 1940s, BVLGARI drew on its Hellenic heritage as the inspiration for its Serpenti Collection, which became a favourite of tastemakers like Liz Taylor and Diana Vreeland.

For 2010, BVLGARI unveils the new Serpenti watch, combining the original design with another iconic style–the Tubogas bracelet. The two are the perfect match, with the slinky Tubogas link forming the perfect second skin accompaniment to the rounded serpentine watch face. The seductive timepiece is powered by Swiss quartz movement Calibre B033, which was engineered exclusively for BVLGARI.

Bvlgari Serpenti

The Jewels And Watches Of The New Serpenti Collection

A perfect synthesis of the serpent’s sinuous form and the elegant and simple purity of geometric abstraction, the jewels and watches of the Serpenti collection find aesthetic cohesion in the chromatic subtleties of white and pink gold, and in the transparency and opacity of diamonds and black onyx.

The body of the bracelets and rings is composed of a series of individual components, each one elaborately crafted, that simulate the scales of the creature’s skin. These elements are joined by invisible gold hinges that form single or double coils surmounted by a stylized, bejeweled head.

In certain models, the linkage is entirely in metal; in others, an alternation of motifs in pavé; in others still, it is studded with a decoration completely in diamonds. In some variants, black onyx is cut and mounted so as to adapt perfectly to the form of the animal’s head, serving as a counterpoint to the roseate tones of the gold and the luminosity of the diamonds, creating an exceptionally beautiful effect.

The core of each piece consists of an internal spring in gold that allows for an extraordinary flexibility. The coils and the head feature an open-work pattern along the sides and bottom that allows light to penetrate the core, thereby accentuating the brilliance of the pavé.

Scales of different height and width that gradually diminish toward the sides, along with exquisitely defined volumes that emphasize the overall design, combine to mimic the sinuous movement of a serpent, endowing each piece with a life of its own.

The most striking examples are represented by the bracelets that wrap around the wrist multiple times, all of them precious and sophisticated interpretations of the snake motif that are amazing for their combination of ingenuity and imagination, not to mention the intricacy of the hand-craftsmanship of Bulgari artisans.

In the versions featuring colored gemstones, the rigor of the design is tempered by the fluidity and lightness conferred by subtle chromatic combinations characterized by softness, transparency, iridescence and luminosity, perfectly harmonized with the tonalities of the metal.

Pink gold is juxtaposed with a rare variety of jade known as lavender, prized for its delicate violet nuances and translucency, while brilliant-cut diamonds add a touch of pure light.

The collection also offers a unique interpretation of the serpent motif in yellow gold conceived as a double coil with scales made of diamonds and white mother-of-pearl.

Equally exquisite is the bracelet in white gold with pale pink coral inserts alternating with brilliant-cut diamonds.

Brilliant- and baguette-cut diamonds are also used to create the stylized forms of two especially elegant bracelets in white gold, whose explicitly contemporary design place them among the boldest of Bulgari’s creations.

The most prized and sophisticated model, characterized by a rich pavé of pink diamonds, plays instead on the alternations and correspondences between the chromatic nuances of white and pink gold as refracted by a sequence of spectacular diamonds.

The collection includes five models in pink and white gold, single or double coil, where the stylized forms, ornamental details and combinations of colors and materials embody the same language of the new Serpenti jewels.

Likewise, the wristwatches in the collection feature flexible bracelets whose exquisitely engineered linkage reproduces the snakeskin motif. The decoration of the coils is characterized by the juxtaposition of gold, diamonds and onyx in a way that underscores the beauty of their craftsmanship.

The curved case of every Serpenti timepiece represents an interesting re-elaboration of the snake head motif, embellished by brilliant-cut diamonds.

The dials are graced by diamond indexes alternating with white mother-of-pearl in the more classic single- or double-coil versions in white gold, and with black mother-of-pearl in the three models in pink gold and onyx. The Calibro B031 quartz movement, built specially for Bulgari, is finished with a Côtes de Genève decoration.