75 YEARS OF SERPENTI
28th February 2024
The Serpenti turns 75 in typically decadent Bulgari style. ROX looks back on its sensuous and scandalous history. Words by Laura McCreddie-Doak.
Bringer of death, symbol of fertility; bound to the earth but an emblem of eternal life – no creature has captured the human imagination more than the snake. It is one of the world’s oldest and most widespread mythological symbols found everywhere from the temples of Cambodia to the First Navy Jack, or flag, of the US Navy. Pharaohs wore a symbol of the Uraeus to represent the goddess Wadjet, often portrayed as a serpent with wings, the mother and protector of Egypt. In ancient Greece and Rome serpents were associated with healing, strength, seductiveness, and eternity.
Bulgari, with its Greco-Roman heritage would have wanted to harness those associations when it unveiled its first Serpenti in 1948. This initial creation was more of a figurative, rather than a literal, serpent. While the head was square, the body was given a symbolic sinuousness through the Tubogas technique. The Tubogas was originally a corrugated tube made from articulated bands of used to transport pressurised gas, hence the name. Bulgari took this principle and refracted it through a high-jewellery lens. Rather than crude bands, its craftspeople wrapped strips of gold, and sometimes steel, around a wooden form, ensuring the edges all interlocked. It isn’t soldered but the jeweller must control the metal’s temperature until the form has been wrapped. By the 1950s, the Serpenti has become more snake-like with a realistic head set with precious-stone eyes and with a watch dial hidden in its mouth.
This icon was given a major PR boost in 1963 when images emerged from the set of Cleopatra. The biopic starring Elizabeth Taylor in the titular role and Richard Burton as Mark Antony had already garnered headlines thanks to replaced directors, illness (Taylor contracted meningitis which postponed shooting), and spiralling budgets, but it was the burgeoning romance between Taylor and Burton, both of whom were married to other people, that was generating the gossip column inches. In a now-famous black-and-white image Taylor, glamourous yet casual is wearing a Serpenti. Cleopatra was rumoured to wear snake jewellery, but it was this mixture of ancient symbolism with a modern edge that made this piece the perfect choice both for Taylor and the Egyptian queen; the bracelet adding to the conflation of the two women. The Italian Maison went on to have a starring role in the Burton/Taylor tumult of a romance. Burton famously joked that he introduced Liz to beer, she introduced him to Bulgari.
Like a snake sheading its skin, the Serpenti has taken on many guises. It has appeared curled around a large, scaled cuff; shrunk to accommodate a movement, the in-house Piccolissimo, just 12mm in diameter and for its 75th birthday this year, it is back in its Tubogas form. This time, however, the sinewy sensuous bracelet continues all the way to the case, joining head and diamond-set in one smooth, gold, serpentine coil.
No creature has captured the human imagination more than the snake. It is one of the world’s oldest and most widespread mythological symbols
Also new are two versions of the Serpenti Misteriosi, originally launched last year with the Piccolissimo-powered timepiece concealed in the snake’s mouth. This year there is a gorgeously opulent rose gold version with black lacquered scales. The art of lacquering inspired by the enamelling technique used by the Egyptians as far back as 2000 BCE, making it the appropriate choice for this symbol of the Pharaohs. The other is a white gold set with nearly 33cts of round-cut stone. On each of the Serpentis, the hexagonal scales are cast using the delicate lost wax technique, which also has roots in antiquity, dating back, as it does 6,000 years and both have dials painstakingly pave set with miniscule diamonds.
In a world where brands appear to be moving into more unisex styles, touting their latest launches as being for anyone, even, thanks to this summer’s full-blown Barbiemania, bubblegum pink (we’re looking at you Ryan Gosling), there is something unashamedly feminine about this uniquely formed watch. Forget what the Bible tells you, being tempted by a serpent, and now a Serpenti, is a privilege reserved solely for women.
Bulgari watches are available online and at ROX Glasgow.
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