BULGARI Serpenti Misteriosi High Jewellery Secret Watches
A new mechanical calibre, an absolute icon: the new Serpenti Misteriosi masterpieces by Bulgari embody new feats of miniaturisation associated with the jewellery and decorative excellence of the Rome-based Maison. On the occasion of the LVMH Watch Week, Bulgari is introducing four new Serpenti secret-watches revisiting the iconic design from the 1950s and paying tribute to the 80th anniversary of the first Bulgari secret watch featuring a rectangular dial concealed by a hinged cover set with brilliant-cut diamonds and decorated with baguette diamonds.
The new creations are all equipped with the new Piccolissimo mechanical movement, one of the smallest in the world, entirely conceived and produced within the Bulgari Manufacture in Le Sentier. The BVL100 calibre revives the very small mechanical ‘motors’ that equipped all women's watches until the early 1970s.
New feats of miniaturisation
Measuring 12.30 mm in diameter and 2.50 mm thick, the BVL100 calibre indicating the hours and minutes is housed in the head of the reptile within a dedicated container. The Manufacture leveraged its rich experience in the domain of Finissimo watches to create a very compact movement weighing only 1.30 grams. The extreme miniaturisation of its 102 components is vividly illustrated in the barrel featuring a total diameter of just 5.00 mm for a thickness of 1.47 mm and a spring that is 170 mm long before being wound. Moreover, to ensure the greatest inertia according to the very small size of the movement, the Manufacture opted for a white gold balance wheel.
Pressing the snake’s tongue on the Serpenti Misteriosi opens the head to reveal the watch. A bidirectional crown located on the caseback enables manual winding and time-setting. This dual function operates by means of a system of reversers.
The launch of the Octo Finissimo in 2014 was a defining moment in the history of Bulgari watches. Topping one record after the other for seven consecutive years, the brand has become the master of ultra-thin movements and redefined the aesthetic of the luxury sport watch in a distinctive and contemporary design language.
After exploring the limits of ultra-thin mechanical watchmaking, Bulgari now lays a new milestone in the field of ultra-small with Piccolissimo, the Italian for “very small”. With it, the brand opens new territories of expression for its ladies’ watches and celebrates the brand's first iconic Serpenti secret timepieces which return in radiant splendour, embellished with gold, diamonds, lacquer and hard stones.
Bulgari, perpetuating the legacy bequeathed by the first Serpenti watches – including the one created for Elizabeth Taylor when she played Cleopatra in Rome’s Cinecittà studios in 1962 – has reinvented the emblematic reptile for decades. Rooted in numerous ancient cultures, the snake embodies multiple symbolic values including womanhood, rebirth, luck, seduction, and temptation – all condensed within the new Serpenti Misteriosi.