Welcome 2021 With Color from Bulagri

by Martin Green

A man writing about gemstone-set ladies’ watches might seem a bit odd, but these articles are among my favorite to write because of how I approach the subject.

While I would never wear these watches, that’s not a disadvantage because they go beyond being just practical timekeepers. They are objets d’art uniting several crafts. The craftspeople making these watches are both the best in their respective fields and have to cooperate among each other. And when they combine their superpowers they create something next level.

In watchmaking, several brands have consistently delivered haute joaillerie horlogerie over the years, including Bulgari, who has expressed its Italian roots through its creations, making them unique in the market and strengthening and enriching the company DNA.

This is most evident in the Serpenti collection. The first Serpenti models were introduced in the 1940s, but Bulgari has taken to successfully evolving and updating the look of the new collections.

This is something of a balancing act as there is a strong need to preserve the DNA of the original while at the same time hitting the right note to remain of current interest. With these new bejeweled Serpenti models, Bulgari shows once again how well it has mastered this process.

Bulgari Serpenti Viper: style in Technicolor

One of the things I enjoy about ladies’ watches is their more abundant use of colored gemstones. And the recent trend for rainbow settings has resulted in the use of very attractive stones not commonly found in watches before as they were reserved for high-end jewelry.

For example, the rainbow settings have given center stage to the long underappreciated spinel family, showing people that sapphires come in more colors than just dark blue. For designers, it is also a boon as it gives them more variables to play with and utilize to the fullest.

Among them also the designers at Bulgari, who usually like to play with a more traditional color palette.

The new Serpenti Viper is available in three different color schemes, with the Blue Colour Wave looking to me to be the coolest of the trio, crafted in white gold and set with diamonds and blue sapphires. It might also be the most boring of the bunch to some, but for me the full range of color intensity of the blue sapphire is a favorite.

The blue sapphires give the watch a profound degree of depth and a contemporary touch as the head of the snake, which houses the movement, is very stylized, only recognizable by its outline.

The red-blooded sibling of the Serpenti Viper Blue Colour Wave is not surprisingly named Red Colour Wave. Here the case and bracelet are crafted in pink gold – a perfect match with the pink sapphires that are the main attraction. With bold red hands against a backdrop of pavé-set brilliant-cut diamonds, the legibility of this watch is outstanding, something you do not always get with such a precious timepiece.

That Bulgari opted for brilliant-cut diamonds to set the snaky “body” of these Serpenti models is clever. On one hand, they need prongs to hold them, giving the watches a classic look. On the other this cut shape allows the gemstones to display an abundant play of light.

The Serpenti Viper Rainbow is the last of the three: here variety of gemstones ranges from colorless diamonds to deep green emeralds. As the Viper Rainbow’s bracelet wraps the wrist nearly three times, Bulgari had copious space to more gradually graduate the gem color change. This makes the watch all the more spectacular and my favorite of the bunch.

Bulgari Serpenti Incantati: it’s not about the gemstones, it is how you use them

The Serpenti Incantati also plays with gemstones, but in a different way. Here, the serpent figure snakes around the watch’s bezel, its body comprising various gemstones in different cuts.

This is a stroke of brilliance as even among the diamonds that decorate the dial, bezel, and bracelet of the watch, the imaginative animal easily competes for your attention. The impressive bracelet is made of rectangular segments set with five brilliant-cut diamonds each.

Those segments in the bracelet provide a symmetrical look preventing the bracelet from becoming overpowering. The same goes for the dial, where a subtle snow-setting of diamonds underscores the conglomeration of cuts, settings, and styles seen in this watch.

Finally, the bezel with its ring of brilliant-cut colorless diamonds is a nod to the past, underscoring the classic pedigree of these new models.

These Bulgari Serpenti Viper and Incantati models are quartz

Some might argue that a mechanical movement is a must for watches like these. But to me, that is like having a hand-wound clock in your car: at the most inconvenient times, you will realize that you forgot to set and wind it.

It is highly unlikely that these Serpenti watches are going to be daily wearers or the most worn watch prospective buyers will have. These are special creations worn for special occasions, carefully matched with an outfit – or when a rebellious touch is preferred, worn as a non-matching statement piece. All the Serpenti models are in their element doing both rebellion and statement, the quartz movement simply adds a level of convenience.

Judging these timepieces as lesser watches because of their quartz movements would do a grave injustice to the outstanding craftsmanship that they represent. Their excellent design lets the work of the gemologist, cutter, polisher, and goldsmith quite literally shine.

It is the united work of these craftspeople that makes these sensational Bulgari Serpenti models much more than an expensive extravagance; they are firmly elevated to the status of pure jewelry art.

For more information, please visit www.bulgari.com/en-int/watches/by-collection/high-jewellery-watches.

Quick Facts Bulgari Serpenti Viper Rainbow
Case: 26 mm, pink gold, 30 m water resistance
Dial and case setting: 271 brilliant-cut diamonds (~1.08 ct)
Bracelet: pink gold with rainbow setting of 157 round sapphires in intense blue, purple, and pink (~14.20 ct); 9 intense red round rubies (~0.85 ct); 36 round spinels in red to orange-red (~3.40 ct); 27 round spessartines in intense to light orange (~2.55 ct); 30 round sapphires in yellow-orange to light yellow (~2.31 ct); 45 round garnets in yellowish to intense green (~3.79 ct); and 16 round emeralds (~1.02 ct)
Movement: quartz
Functions: hours, minutes
Price: on request

Quick Facts Bulgari Serpenti Viper Blue Colour Wave
Case: 26 mm, white gold, 30 m water resistant
Dial: pavé setting of 114 brilliant-cut diamonds (~0.28 ct)
Bracelet: white gold set with 229 brilliant-cut sapphires in light to dark blue (~20.65 ct) and 90 brilliant-cut diamonds (~6.50 ct)
Movement: quartz
Functions: hours, minutes
Price: on request

Quick Facts Bulgari Serpenti Viper Red Colour Wave
Case: 26 mm, pink gold, 30 m water resistant
Dial: pavé-setting of 114 brilliant-cut diamonds (~0.28 ct)
Bracelet: pink gold with pavé setting of 163 brilliant-cut sapphires in light to dark pink (~13.8 ct); 66 brilliant-cut red rubies (~8.83 ct); and 90 brilliant-cut diamonds (~6.34 ct)
Movement: quartz
Functions: hours, minutes
Price: on request

Quick Facts Bulgari Serpenti Incantati Rainbow
Case: 33 mm, yellow gold, 30 m water resistant
Case setting: 3 round, oval, and square tsavorites in light to intense green (~1.67 ct); 3 round, oval, and rectangle sapphires in yellow to orange (~1.38 ct); 1 round orange garnet (~0.23 ct); 2 orange-red round and square spinels; 2 oval and fancy-shaped rubies in intense to medium red (~1 ct); 7 oval, round, pear, and fancy-cut sapphires in intense to light pink, purple, and blue (~6.56 ct)
Dial: yellow gold set with 150 brilliant-cut diamonds (~0.33 ct)
Bracelet: yellow gold set with 282 brilliant-cut diamonds (~8.98 ct)
Movement: quartz
Functions: hours, minutes
Price: on request

Quick Facts Bulgari Serpenti Incantati Blue Colour Wave
Case: 33 mm, white gold, 30 m water resistant
Case setting: 14 round- and fancy-cut sapphires in very light to medium-dark blue (~9.99 ct) and 4 round- and fancy-cut diamonds (~0.96 ct)
Dial: white gold set with 150 brilliant-cut diamonds (~0.33 ctBracelet: white gold set with 282 brilliant-cut diamonds (~8.98 ct)
Movement: quartz
Functions: hours, minutes
Price: on request