- By Isabella Proia
The Bulgari Serpenti has endured for over half a decade, constantly evolving and pushing the boundaries of form and function. The Serpenti as part of Bulgari's design heritage was actually preceded by the Tubogas, drawing inspiration from gas pipelines and constructed with a metal coil surrounded by interlocking precious metal bands. The Tubogas, in various forms, has been in existence since the 1940s. Bulgari took this more functional design and from the 1950s through the 1970s, transformed the humble coils into vividly colored and realistic serpentine bracelet watches.
The miniature watch movements, usually located within the mouth of the snake, were supplied to Bulgari by high-end watch manufactures such as Jaeger-LeCoultre, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, Movado, and Omega. The Serpenti of this period always featured a manually-wound movement with the winding crown located at the reverse.
The form of the snake was made possible by a white gold coil, over which hammered gold scales were riveted together. These scales were sometimes decorated with translucent enamel, covering the lifelike, hand-engraved scales beneath, or inlaid with semi-precious and precious stones. The eyes of the snakes were usually large cabochon precious stones, such as diamonds, sapphires, or rubies.
This particular Bulgari Serpenti is extremely rare and marvelous in its own right. With its movement signed Jaeger-LeCoultre and Bulgari, it was produced circa 1970. The eyes are large faceted diamonds, with rows of scales alternating between beautiful white enamel outlined in gold, and brilliant cut diamonds set in prongs and delicately engraved.
Its smaller size was likely a custom order for a smaller wrist or just personal preference, and is rarely seen on the secondary market. This smaller size was only available after 1968, in accordance with the circa 1970 production of this example. In addition, scholarship indicates these were smaller models were exclusively offered as special order pieces, further contributing to their rarity and importance. The snake's head lies beautifully below the joints of the wrist, as the tapered body rendered in 18k pink gold winds along the arm. The attention to detail, sumptuous materials, and evocative design make this Serpenti a horological and artistic specimen of the highest order.
Three crucial elements combine to make these vintage Serpenti bracelet watches exceptional in the realm of horology, jewelry, and design. The first is Bulgari's choice of the serpent as a symbol of sensuality, vitality, and protection. Secondly, the design and creation of the Serpenti comes from a distinctly Italian heritage of exceptional handcrafted jewelry. Finally, the inspiration for the Serpenti in both form and function was drawn from the best of the artistic movements of the era - a fusion of form and function, drawn from the natural world, but showcasing that unique playfulness and love of color that is typical of Bulgari.
As long as mankind has walked the earth, snakes have slithered alongside them; sometimes hidden in the depths of a jungle or winding their way through desert sands. It is no surprise, therefore, that they appear in the mythology, semiology and theology of most civilizations since antiquity. Most significantly for Bulgari, they are omnipresent in ancient Roman culture, symbolizing fertility and protection against evil. The latter power in particular was important to ancient Romans, as the Roman genius loci, the protective spirit of a physical location, took the form of a serpent. It is quite easy to find carvings and paintings of serpents adorning ancient Roman ruins as well as medieval Italian churches. In jewelry, the archives of the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum, and the Walter's Art Museum are full of examples of gold snake cuffs dating from the first century A.D., meant to be worn either on the wrist or the upper arm. Often worn by women, they were meant as protection and a symbol of life-giving force. Hundreds of these cuffs, as well as rings and other jewelry pieces, have been uncovered in various archeological excavations, often rendered in solid gold. It is interesting to note that another Bulgari classic, the Monete line, combines ancient Roman (as well as Greek and Persian) coins and precious metals to create highly valued pieces of jewelry.
Ravaged by the invasion of foreign armies and weakened by decades of failed economic policy, Italy in the immediate aftermath of World War II was in desperate need of revitalization. It received some aid from the American Marshall Plan, an economic assistance plan meant to help rebuild the economies of post-war Western Europe, but in addition to this, rapid industrialization necessary to help refurbish not only Italian infrastructure but also on a global level allowed Italy to experience what is now called the 'Italian economic period'. This was characterized by a period of rapid economic growth between 1950 and 1963 where Italy moved from a semi-agrarian society towards the more modern industrialized nation it is today. This effect was felt in the realm of design, as Jared Goss of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York writes, "In an effort to revive their depressed postwar economy, Italian designers made a self-conscious effort to establish themselves as leaders in the lucrative international marketplace for domestic design." With industrialization came wealth, and with wealth came a demand for luxury goods. Having always excelled in the design and production of luxury items, Italian companies, and in particular Bulgari, set out to stake their claim as masters of their craft.
Though Bulgari was established in 1905, the many iconic silhouettes now associated with the brand were developed in this post-war climate through the 1970s - the Tubogas, the Monete, the Serpenti, and finally, the Parentesi. Their emphasis was on craftsmanship and color, particularly colorful cabochon gemstones. To emulate the lustrous scales of a serpent, Bulgari turned to enamel to embellish their already prodigious use of gemstones. The Serpenti sprang out of the Tubogas, a natural successor to the ergonomic wrap bracelet, which also exists in the form of a Tubogas bracelet mounted with a watch. Goss additionally writes of Italian designers that "while initially they looked to traditional forms or materials for inspiration, they also soon embraced new materials and technologies to produce radically innovative designs," much like the concurrent movements in contemporary art. The boldness of contemporary art, the heritage of Italian design and craft, and the growing demand for luxury that was not just elegant but also evocative, all led Bulgari to create these infamous serpentine masterpieces. The Serpenti watch is simultaneously audacious and magnificent, and epitomizes the role of societal and economic forces on the art and design of an era.
The present Bulgari Serpenti is Lot 989 of the Hong Kong Watch Auction: SIX. It goes up at auction on May 29 with an estimate of HK$1,200,000 - 2,400,000 (approx. $154,000-308,000). For more information, please visit the full catalogue entry for this watch.