Bulgari sparkles with high jewellery watch collections
From the rebirth of the legendary Serpenti to the reinterpretation of its shimmering Lucea collections, the Rome-based luxury Maison, Bulgari, merges new aesthetics and infuses creative imagination to two towering pillars that distinguishes it further as a brand: The high jewellery and Haute Horlogerie
The House of Bulgari unfurls new heights to its high end feminine pieces with the unveiling of this year’s collections that dazzle without fear. While Serpenti coils its way to ever broader creativity as the entire range enters whole new fields of expression, renewing the theme through high jewellery and haute horlogerie, ceramic and five-coil Tubogas interpretations, the Lucea is perpetuating the saga that began in 2013 and adopts precious ornamentation representing a distinctly horological echo of the jewellery collections from the Maison. In 2016, here are the glittering “high jewellery watches” that add glamour to the luxury brand.
Serpenti Incantati
The legendary Serpenti slides its way into countless fresh fields of expression this year, reborn in the form of captivating contemporary interpretations. In Serpenti Incantati, Bulgari gives a new lease on life to this animal symbol. After coiling around the wrist, the snake is now reinvented by wrapping itself for the very first time around the 41mm-diameter in 18 carat pink or white gold case of a round watch: The reptile literally twines itself around the watch dial, admirably framing a mechanical hand-wound and entirely skeleton-worked Manufacture tourbillon movement, the BVL Calibre 208.
The airily graceful movement is a work of art where the mainplate and bridges are crafted in pink or white gold, the flanks are straight-grained, the rims and sinks are all chamfered and systematically polished. The steel parts are complemented by the kind of surface finishes cherished by Haute Horlogerie: circular graining and snailing set the finishing touches to this precious craftsmanship contributing to a spectacular result. Aside from the spectacular finishing, the watch flaunts its 64-hour power reserve and 30-metre water resistance.
Available in two versions – a 50-piece limited edition for the pink gold version and 30-piece limited edition for the white gold version – the new Serpenti Incantati Skeleton Tourbillon entirely renews the theme through a modern design. The splendid Serpenti Incantati – or enchanting snake – is magnificently tamed in a whole new way, through a bewitching interpretation celebrating the union of Haute Horlogerie and High Jewellery. Each part of the snake’s head and body has been entirely rethought and redesigned through extremely contemporary, soft and stylised lines.
Serpenti Incantati comes in a rubellite-set version with a pink gold case and satin strap or a matching jewellery bracelet; or in a diamond-set white gold variation with a satin strap or matching jewellery bracelet – all in a 30mm size.
This precious and refined watch testifies to the high degree of technical mastery cultivated by the master artisans in Bulgari’s High Jewellery ateliers. The finesse and the quality of the gemsetting, as well as the ways in which the stones are assembled and adjusted, are truly remarkable. One also notes the amazingly flexible feel of the gemset bracelets that are extremely pleasant to wear, since Bulgari focuses on achieving a distinctive sensuality for its jewellery that makes each piece supremely comfortable as well as radiant. The snake’s tail flows over the wrist and coils around it with supple grace, testifying to the flexibility and sense of movement characterising Bulgari jewellery creations.
Serpenti Jewellery
Given the timeless nature of the snake theme, Bulgari naturally also offers a new interpretation of the collection jewellery line, more classically fitted on a traditional watch bracelet, featuring a characteristic design in which the head of the reptile rests on its tail. The 30mm Serpenti Jewellery line gives pride of place to colour combinations created by diamonds, coloured mother-of-pearl, coral, onyx and turquoise, all set on an underlying pink gold structure.
In a formal register suited to this interpretation, the Maison presents three colourful jewellery models providing sparkling interpretations: The first one comes with a bracelet adorned with mother-of-pearl and coral, one with mother-of-pearl and turquoise, and another one featuring onyx and coral. A dainty row of diamonds runs over the elements composing the bracelet, extending to the head of the snake in diamond-set pink gold. The onyx and coral version has a lacquered black dial with brilliant-cut diamond hour-markers, while the other executions both display a pink mother-of-pearl dial also graced with brilliant-cut diamond hour-markers.
These exquisite contemporary, perpetually renewed tributes to the snake testify to this motif’s enduring capacity for regeneration through perpetually inspired creativity.
Lucea High Jewellery
Born of a love of light and time, Lucea is entirely dedicated to seduction – a magnetism reinforced by its new universally graceful proportions that can be appreciated around the world for their beauty and sensuality, as well as their smooth, easily flowing feel. This year, with Lucea, the art of the watch bracelet has indeed found a whole new expression
In the domain of pure Haute Joaillerie, Bulgari also offers a remarkable entirely snow-set version of Lucea this year. The Lucea High Jewellery timepiece wears around 1,859 gems totalling 10.9 carats and 117 grams of 18-carat pink gold. This 18-carat pink gold watch is entirely set with diamonds adorning the case and dial as well as the bracelet with its famous articulated links symbolising the Lucea collection.
Water resistant to 30 metres, the dial is entirely snow-set with 487 brilliant-cut diamonds; the 18-carat pink gold case is snow-set with 217 diamonds; the 18-carat pink gold bezel set with brilliant-cut diamonds; the 18 carat pink gold crown set with a cabochon-cut pink stone and a diamond; and the 18 carat pink gold bracelet fitted with a triple-blade folding clasp, entirely set with 1155 diamonds.
The resulting intensely luminous and supremely pure timepiece is fitted with the mechanical self-winding B77 calibre, powering the hours, minutes and seconds. It has a 42-hour power reserve.
