why-bulgari-serpenti-remains-an-icon-of-luxury

Bulgari Serpenti The Roman jeweller’s mesmerising icon has continually shed its skin to stay at the top of luxury hit lists.

Once bitten

A mythological symbol for countless cultures over millennia, the snake has represented fertility, strength, seduction, renewal and power – most notably feminine power. That’s why it’s been a recurring theme in jewellery design with perhaps none so memorable as Bulgari’s Serpenti. Paying tribute to the company founder, Greek silversmith Sotirios Voulgaris (his name was Italianised to Bulgari), who emigrated to Rome in 1881 and set up shop three years later, the now-classic serpent bracelet watch first appeared in the 1940s and the ever-evolving motif has held the public in its thrall ever since.

La dolce vita

In the post-World War II years, a coiled design using the tubogas technique – literally translated as “gas pipe” – struck the right note of sober elegance, the watch face representing the snake’s head. But in the years that followed, its forms became more stylised. The head adopted a “secret” hinged cover, often encrusted with diamonds and adorned with eyes of ruby, emerald or sapphire. The scales were rendered in gold, enamel or gemstones such as turquoise, onyx, lapis lazuli and jade. The 1960s represented a time of increased hedonism. When Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor started frequenting the Bulgari boutique in Via Condotti during the filming of Cleopatra in Rome in 1962 – and wearing a striking, one-of-a-kind diamond-encrusted Serpenti bracelet watch on set – the fate of the design was decided.

Culture club

In a 1968 memo to staff, celebrated Vogue magazine editor Diana Vreeland instructed: “Don’t forget the serpent… it should be on every finger and all wrists…” Vreeland wore her own Serpenti belt in white and pink enamel wrapped twice around her neck in a visionary sign of changing times. Andy Warhol was also a fan and dubbed Bulgari’s Rome headquarters as “the most important museum of contemporary art”. And American actor Marisa Berenson typified the changing state of luxury in the 1970s when she teamed a Bulgari Tubogas watch with a simple tank top and natural curls for a laid-back portrait.

Slither of time

In 2019 Bulgari introduced the Serpenti Seduttori Born to be Gold collection, the newest incarnation of the cult bracelet watch. With its flexible scales coiling around the wrist in stainless steel or stainless steel and rose-gold with or without diamonds, three new models were launched that year, cementing the modern timepiece’s place in the story of this house mascot.

Scaling up

The serpent has caught the attention of a new generation, not only for the watch collections but also Bulgari’s fine jewellery and bags. Whether it’s actor and singer Zendaya wearing a 93-carat cabochon-cut emerald necklace at last year’s Venice Film Festival, the appeal of stackable diamond jewels from the contemporary Viper collection or the covetable Forever crossbody bag fastened with a snake’s head, the legend lives on.