Bvlgari X MB&F Serpenti

In 2021, sparked by a chance encounter a few years earlier between Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, director of watchmaking creation at Bvlgari, and Maximilian Büsser, founder and creative director of MB&F, the two brands released a first collaboration: the MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra. This collaboration brought the exuberant, colourful world of Bvlgari jewellery into MB&F’s Legacy Machines. After the success of that collaboration, the two friends naturally wondered, what next?

For this second collaboration, Fabrizio and Max chose to reinterpret one of Bvlgari’s most famous historical creations – Serpenti, which first appeared in Bvlgari’s creations in 1948 – bringing it into the very mechanical universe of MB&F haute-horlogerie. Combining the vision and expertise of these two creative forces, the Bvlgari x MB&F Serpentislithered into being…

BVLGARI X MB&F SERPENTI: THE DESIGN

According to Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, the design aspects “were a pleasure to create”, perhaps giving the impression that this part of the process was relatively easy – but the hundreds of sketches and dozens of 3D-printed models attest otherwise. Contrary to a classic round case, which offers only a few dimensions to experiment with, the case of the Bvlgari x MB&F Serpenti could not be more complicated. Like an automobile, the view is radically different depending on whether you admire it from the front, the side, the top, the back… and all those views must be equally satisfying. Like a carefully-balanced equation with multiple variables, any adjustment to a particular angle or curve, although improving a certain view, can potentially destroy another. This resulted in countless iterations of the Bvlgari x MB&F Serpenti design.

The Bvlgari x MB&F Serpenti case is all about curves, combined together to create a machining nightmare. The complex curves extend beyond the metal of the case to the five sapphire crystals, including the snake’s eyes and the multi-facetted rear section – all treated with anti-reflective coating on both sides and providing large openings on the movement. This combination of curved metals and sapphire crystals is not only extremely difficult to machine and finish, but also incredibly challenging to make water-resistant to 30 metres.

THE MB&F IN-HOUSE MOVEMENT

Inside the case, an equally complex movement that breaks all traditional watchmaking conventions, conceived and developed in-house by MB&F. From the beginning, one of Fabrizio’s central ideas was to bring Serpenti to (mechanical) life by animating its eyes; this has been materialised as revolving hour and minute domes, the left dome making a full rotation in 12 hours and the right one in 60 minutes. The paper-thin domes are machined from solid aluminium to make them as light as possible, requiring innovative milling processes. Both are adorned with hand-applied Super-LumiNova, so that when darkness falls, the luminous gaze of the snake’s eyes persists.

The mechanical reptile’s brain is symbolised by the technically challenging, oversized 14mm flying balance wheel with four traditional regulating screws, beating at the traditional rate of 2.5Hz. It is firmly held in place thanks to a three-dimensional balance bridge bearing the two partners’ names. Separate crowns are actuated for winding and time-setting, incorporated in the rear lugs of the Bvlgari x MB&F Serpenti.

Flipping the Machine over reveals the power reserve indicator “45 hours”, along with some of the other 310 components of the hand-finished movement.

THE AUTOMOTIVE TOUCH

In addition to its obvious Serpenti origins, this unique new series reveals another source of inspiration for its two creators. Both Fabrizio and Max are car design enthusiasts and grew up with the same automotive references. Initially, there was no plan to incorporate automobile design codes into the Bvlgari x MB&F Serpenti, but there is no denying the influence that has seeped into this new creation: a case that resembles sleek automotive bodywork, a complex “stepped” sapphire crystal shaped like the flaps on the rear window of a sports car, crowns that could easily be mistaken for car wheels… The apparent portion of the movement also includes car engine-like components, including a grille with the famous hexagonal scale motif seen on previous Serpenti creations.

THREE LIMITED EDITIONS

There are three different 39mm versions to choose from, each limited to only 33 pieces. The first comes in a grade 5 titanium case with blue hour and minute domes (€ 140,000 + TAX). The second is housed in an 18K rose gold case and features piercing green eyes (€ 161,000 + TAX), and a third version is crafted from black PVD-coated stainless steel and comes alive with vibrant red eyes (€ 140,000 + TAX).