Bulgari and MB&F Just Dropped a Wild ‘Serpenti’ Watch for Men
When Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, product creation executive director at Bulgari, held court at the brand’s boutique on Fifth Avenue in New York City last month to present the new Serpenti watches for women, now equipped with automatic movements, he presented journalists with one last surprise, under embargo. “And now, I’m going to show you something very special…a Serpenti for men,” he said before he took out the box to unveil the new creation. Journalists let out audible gasps.
Just a couple of years ago, during LVMH watch week, Antoine Pin, the former Bulgari managing director of watches now CEO at TAG Heuer, was pressed on whether or not the company would ever release a Bulgari for men. Specifically, the thought process among some journalists, myself included, was that there might be a rendition of the classic Serpenti Tubogas made large enough to wrap around a man’s wrist. Sure, it’s not for everyone, but in today’s era where everything goes, it seemed like the red-carpet moment for a celebrity not afraid to take risks, such as Timothée Chalamet or Dwayne Wade, both of whom have been spotted wearing ladies’ watches at press events. Of course, it would have to be a limited edition because it’s not the kind of thing you could sell at a reasonable price point, but the marketing moment would seemingly be priceless. Pin, with a smile, mentioned that there could be room for something in the future.
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What was not expected was that it would appear in the form of a collaboration between the Roman house and avant-garde watchmaker MB&F. The Bulgari x MB&F Serpenti marks the second joint venture by the two makers—the first debuted in 2021 with the MB&F x Bulgari LM FlyingT Allegra. As far back as 10 years ago, Buonamassa Stigliani says he saw two men wearing Serpenti watches on New Bond Street in London and he thought, “Maybe they need something that doesn’t exist yet.” But he felt it was too early. Now, three 39 mm wide by 18 mm thick by 53 mm lug-to-lug iterations in 18-karat rose gold ($170,000), Grade 5 Titanium or black PVD-coated stainless steel (both $148,000) are executed in an out-there case reminiscent of both MB&F’s HM10 Bulldog and Bulgari’s Serpenti head. Each version is limited to just 33 pieces.
Fans of MB&F’s HM10 Bulldog will instantly recognize the similarities in design, but Buonamassa Stigliani noted that the case still had to be reworked to look more serpentine. “Honestly, it was very hard at the beginning to find the face of this watch,” he says. “I made several sketches in different directions. But when I had in mind the idea that I have to see the watch, and I have to read the time and keep the eyes of the snake…after that, it was two days [to finish the design].” The movement, which was created and developed in-house by MB&F, is hand-finished and is composed of 310 components. The “eyes” of the snake come alive via two rotating hour and minute domes, which are machined from solid aluminum for lightness, which required a unique milling process. Both are equipped with SuperLuminova, so the snake’s eyes illuminate in the dark. The unconventional architecture of the movement is a result of MB&F’s innovative thinking across 20 calibers since it began in 2005 and is a testament to founder Max Büsser’s ability to push the boundaries of what is possible in the genre.
Bonamassa Stigliani is an equally an out-of-the-box thinker, having developed the Octo Finissimo for Bulgari, arguably one of the most interesting and innovative modern watches on the market. They are a creative match made in heaven. Both are also serious car enthusiasts—Buonamassa Stigliani used to design for Alfa Romeo at the Turin Automotive Group—and you can see the influence of the automotive world in the “bodywork” of the case, the stepped sapphire crystal meant to evoke the flaps on a rear window, and crowns that look like car wheels. So, here you have a watch inspired by a snake, a bulldog, and sports cars…it’s not for everyone and it may not be the men’s Serpenti some had in mind, but for the very few that will own one of these, it’s safe to say they’ll have a watch that looks wildly unique.
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