Bulgari Spotlights New Innovations and Daring Techniques at LVMH Watch Week 2023

When it comes to dazzling and iconic watch creations, time ticks away at the beat of Bulgari. For LVMH Watch Week earlier this year in Singapore, the Roman jeweller placed the spotlight on new innovations and the daring techniques behind the creation of its ladies’ jewellery watches – adorned with sparkling jewels – and the result is nothing short of awe-inspiring.

Colourful, geometric, unmistakably Italian, and consistently precious, Bulgari’s creative vocabulary has been steadily evolving since its origins, as the evolution of its heritage pieces vividly demonstrates. A jeweller and watchmaker all in one, the Rome-based maison, year after year, gives life to timeless creations featuring aesthetic codes that have become signatures.

With the colourful and joyful Divas’ Dream, the Dolce Vita makes the hours dance to the rhythm of moments seized for eternity – Bulgari’s way of celebrating the Italian art of living and the splendour of Rome’s Golden Age. As the “master of coloured gemstones”, it makes the gemset petals of Divas’ Dream quiver and offers a perfect gradient of blue and pink sapphires on the Divas’ Dream Mosaica.

The entrancing Serpenti continues to mesmerise with its inimitable curves, living up to its stature as an absolute icon. A symbol of vitality, the serpent is reborn in a precious guise with the Serpenti Tubogas Infinity. The modular construction of the bracelet, stemming from technical expertise that is a first for Tubogas, heralds infinite creative possibilities, while the glamorous Serpenti Seduttori presents a fascinating vision with its black lacquered dial.

SERPENTI SEDUTTORI

The irresistible Serpenti Seduttori (pictured above) was born in 2019, inspired by the iconic Tubogas. The inimitably curvaceous signature case adopts the shape of a snake’s head, which Bulgari extends with a hexagonal scaglie (scale) bracelet, perfectly integrated like a sensual second skin and inspired by the ‘secret’ Serpenti watches in the 1960s. The bracelet is exquisitely articulated in a geometric repetition of masterfully crafted elements. The iconic lines of the Serpenti Seduttori come to life thanks to the expertise of the Bulgari watch Manufacture in Switzerland. The materials and precious stones used in each of its creations reinforce its power of attraction, transforming time into a flow of infinitely precious moments.

Two new Serpenti Seduttori models with deep black lacquered faces enrich the collection inspired by the legendary reptile. In spectacular contrast to the dial, the first is crafted in steel, while the second combines it with the beauty of rose gold. The sinuously fascinating case is illuminated on the side by a pink rubellite topping the crown – a signature of the Roman jeweller. The bracelet with its emblematic scales appears to merge seamlessly into the case. A comfortable folding clasp holds these subtle expressions of contemporary glamour firmly to the wrist.

SERPENTI TUBOGAS INFINITY

Perpetual rebirth, wisdom and vitality are expressed in the sinuously elegant curves of the snake. This mystical creature with its talisman-like allure has always fascinated Bulgari. Its first snakes – serpenti in Italian – featured a stylised geometry in the form of a watch as early as 1948, with Tubogas embracing the wrist with its undulations. This wrapping bracelet is the result of a complex technique that involves coiling several metres of gold or steel wire.

In the late 1950s, Serpenti changed again: its face became more realistic and took the shape of a cover concealing the case of ‘secret’ watches, while its scales adopted coloured enamel and precious stones. In 2010, Bulgari united two icons in a contemporary version, with the sinuous case of the Serpenti  watch set atop of the Tubogas bracelet. In 2022, Bulgari debuted the smallest round mechanical movement, the Piccolissimo calibre BVL 100, fitting it into the Serpenti High Jewellery timepieces.

And now, a bewitching transformation of the snake is foreshadowing exquisite and multiple possibilities with the Serpenti Tubogas Infinity that exacerbates Bulgari’s intensely Italian style and expertise. The legendary Bulgari snake dares to undergo a new metamorphosis, as the reptile slips into a precious and infinitely creative skin. For the first time, the serpentine silhouette continues from the watch case all the way to the bracelet, thanks to refined gemsetting adorning a modular construction. The rings are moulded – each in unique dimensions – before being polished, gem-set and assembled on a titanium blade.

The result is Serpenti Tubogas Infinity – Bulgari’s dazzling new snake. The brilliance of the diamonds extends the head of the snake, lit up by snow setting on the dial, a gem-set bezel and eight diamonds on the curve of the case – all requiring a high level of expertise. While Bulgari is presenting this new expression of Serpenti watches in two initial versions – respectively fitted with single tour and double tour bracelets – the technique heralds boundless creative freedom. Both new models, conceived like a second skin, continue to celebrate the deep intimate bond between Serpenti and the one who wears it.

DIVAS’ DREAM

With Divas’ Dream, Bulgari celebrates the Roman art of living – vibrant with colour and emotion. The joyful and playful Dolce Vita spirit shines through their precious and extrovert opulence. In the 1950s, the maison highlighted the cabochon cut and the audacious association of brightly coloured stones. A rainbow of gems blossomed in the designs, stating that “Time is a Jewel” for Bulgari. The craftsmen drew inspiration from the Golden Age of Rome and the fan shape of the ginkgo leaf, depicted in the mosaics on the floor gracing Rome’s Baths of Caracalla. The art of jewellery and the art of watchmaking are united around this motif, an iconic aesthetic signature and a pretext for exuberant creativity.

Bulgari jewellery from the 1980s to the 1990s, such as brooches and necklaces, demonstrated an uncommon command of the craft. Beneath its aura of exuberance and playfulness, the maison combined various shapes and shades in well-designed proportions and sizes. Later, in 1991, the house continued to manifest its virtuosity in creating sophisticated gem-set motifs, such as those adorning the Naturalia fish earrings. The same mastery in shaping gems to define the design continues with the new Divas’ Dream creations.

Precious mobile petals flutter around the pearly face of Divas’ Dream, impelled by wrist movements. Their shape is reminiscent of the ginkgo leaf, symbolising the union of opposites. In this model, Bulgari combines the hardness of the stones with the fluidity of the fanned petals. Topazes, tanzanites, amethysts, tourmalines, rubies, and diamonds – gems in brilliant colours, brimming with promise, enhance the new Divas’ Dream.

Featuring blue shades on the first model and mauve on the second, the beauty of polished rose gold at the base of the petals combines with the sparkle of diamonds. On the third, eight deep red rubies – a colour symbolic of good luck and fortune in Asian culture during Chinese New Year festivities – contrast with a diamond pavé motif. Each of these Divas’ Dreams glows on a perfectly matched strap, contributing to a slim and elegant design that is so quintessentially Bulgari.

Two precious new Divas’ Dream Mosaica models express the full extent of Bulgari’s jewellery and watchmaking expertise. On the full-set dial, a fan-shaped pattern recalls the mosaics adorning the Baths of Caracalla, with a subtle sapphire gradient ranging from pale pink to magenta for the first rose gold version and from sky blue to deep azure for the second white gold iteration.

A polished gold decorative fillet rims this design, against a background of brilliant-cut diamonds. Vividly coloured gems light up the hours on the bezel and crown set with cabochon-cut diamonds – a Bulgari signature. The Divas’ Dream Mosaica in rose gold embraces the wrist with a purple alligator leather strap fitted with a sparkling gold and diamond folding clasp. The design of the bracelet’s gemset lugs echoes the dial motifs.

The Divas’ Dream Mosaica with blue sapphires is paired with a spectacular bracelet created by Bulgari’s goldsmiths. Like so many glittering stars, each of the fan-shaped links sparkles with a profusion of diamonds. The transparent case back reveals a finely decorated mechanical self-winding movement from the Bulgari watch Manufacture in Switzerland. These precious jewel-watches recall the origins of the maison: Roman, of course, but also as a jeweller and watchmaker.

ALLEGRA

Colours and shapes sparkle with the uninhibited and precious Allegra. Bulgari puts together a tangy cocktail brimming with surprises and brings to life the idea that “Time is a Jewel”. The gems – tourmalines, citrines, rhodolites and peridots – explode in a variety of joyful shapes, associated with pink or yellow sapphires. Having made their first dazzling appearance during summer 2022, they continue charming the Sun with their outspoken joy.