For their second collaboration, Bulgari and independent Swiss watch brand MB&F have partnered to create the first contemporary, genderless offering featuring the jeweler’s “Serpenti” motif.
Dubai—Bulgari has teamed up with independent Swiss watch brand MB&F on a timepiece that reimagines the jeweler’s famous icon, “Serpenti.”
Bulgari debuted the first Serpenti piece in 1948, evolving and reinventing the design over the years.
The “Bulgari x MB&F Serpenti” is the first contemporary genderless offering featuring the motif.
Its timely launch coincides with the Year of the Snake, the Chinese lunar calendar’s animal of the year for 2025.
The watch showcases a complex case modeled after a serpent’s head and is powered by a MB&F caliber.
The “Bulgari x MB&F Serpenti” watch features a curved design and a complex movement conceived and developed in-house by MB&F.
The curves extend across the case metal, the five sapphire crystals, and the rear, each of which is treated with anti-reflective coating on both sides. The design provides large openings to view the movement.
Maximilian Büsser, founder and creative director of MB&F, said the biomorphic design of the Bulgari x MB&F Serpenti watch posed “enormous challenges” in developing the case as well as the movement, which was conceived and developed in-house by MB&F.
“The intricate case is entirely machined with 5-axis 3D mills and holds the five sapphire crystals, which were not only extremely complicated to make but equally challenging to fit due to the curved nature of the case and the desire for a water resistance of 30 meters,” Büsser said.
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MB&F, which takes an innovative approach to watchmaking, describes its creations as “kinetic sculptures which tell time.”
The Bulgari x MB&F Serpenti involved hundreds of sketches, dozens of 3D-printed models, and several iterations, according to designers.
One initial idea for the design was to animate the snake's eyes, a concept that materialized as revolving hour and minute domes, the left dome making a full rotation in 12 hours and the right one in 60 minutes.
The domes, created to be paper-thin and as light as possible, are machined from solid aluminum, requiring innovative milling processes. They also feature hand-applied Super-LumiNova, which allows the snake “eyes” to illuminate in the dark.
The “brain” of the snake is an oversized 14mm flying balance wheel with four traditional regulating screws which operates at 2.5 Hz. It is held in place by a three-dimensional balance bridge that reads “Bulgari x MB&F.”
Separate crowns are actuated for winding and time-setting, incorporated in the rear lugs of the watch.
The “Bulgari x MB&F Serpenti” Ref. 104047 features a grade 5 titanium case with blue domes on a hand-stitched blue rubber strap.
On the other side is a power reserve indicator, along with some of the other 310 components of the movement.
MB&F finishes its components by hand, a process that allows for limited crafting.
The watchmakers can only craft and assemble six to eight Bulgari x MB&F Serpenti movements per month. The total 99 pieces require more than a year to deliver.
The timepiece is available in three versions, each limited to 33 pieces.
The “Bulgari x MB&F Serpenti” watch is available in three versions.
The options include grade 5 titanium case with blue hour and minute domes; 18-karat rose gold case with green domes; and black PVD-coated stainless steel with red domes.
In 2021, the companies released their first co-designed timepiece, the “MB&F x Bulgari LM FlyingT Allegra,” combining Bulgari’s colored gemstones and MB&F’s legacy machines.
The collaboration was the result of a chance encounter a few years earlier between Büsser and Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, director of watchmaking creation at Bulgari.
Both car enthusiasts, the two were also inspired by automobile design when developing the Bulgari x MB&F Serpenti.
The timepiece features elements reminiscent of sports car windows, wheels, and, in the movement, engine-like components, including a grille with the hexagonal scale motif seen on previous Serpenti creations.
Jean-Christophe Babin, Bulgari Group CEO, states “Watchmaking is all about innovation and desirability stemming from the magical fusion of superlative micromechanical expertise with unexpected yet stunning timeless designs."
Babin also said that brands must continue to innovate, especially in down-cycles and with leadership that is obsessed with progress, beauty, and strategic thinking that drives unexpected initiatives.
“Our collaboration is unique in the watch world because it bridges the two souls of our maisons and gives birth to a timeless treasure – a true collectible piece. The first-ever truly genderless Serpenti resonates with both contemporary gentlemen and ladies. It shows that superlative watchmaking can be generated by the unexpected pooling of talents like Max and Fabrizio,” said Babin.
Stigliani said the Bulgari x MB&F Serpenti was a pleasure to design even while being technically challenging to produce. The aim was to have a totally different vision, he said.
“The snake is a magnificent object that appeals to many collectors. I think we succeeded in giving the Bulgari serpent a new horizon. It is not just a feminine object linked to the brand’s DNA but, for the first time, a technical object that speaks to the Bulgari aesthetic and showcases MB&F’s expertise. Like all good collaborations, it is a win-win project,” said Stigliani.
