Take a brand renowned for its craftsmanship and one of the most revered watchmakers and you may well have the prospect of a pretty exciting creation. That’s essentially what has happened when the creative minds of MB&F and Bvlgari came together.
On paper, the brands may be worlds apart. However, both share an unexpected connection that has given birth to one-of-a-kind creations that challenge horological conventions. The new Bvlgari x MB&F Serpenti is one such example.
This creative merger of design, style and craftsmanship first took place in 2021 with the MB&F x Bvlgari LM FlyingT Allegra. This collaboration brought the exuberant, colourful world of Bvlgari jewellery into MB&F’s Legacy Machines.
For their follow-up, a reinterpretation of one of Bvlgari’s most famous historical creations was on the cards. The Serpenti, which first appeared in Bvlgari’s creations in 1948 has now been brought into the very mechanical universe of MB&F haute-horlogerie.
Reimagining The Serpenti
Through the vision and expertise of the creative forces at Bvlgari and MB&F, the Serpenti has undergone a metamorphosis into a Horological Machine. Contrary to a classic round case, which offers only a few dimensions to experiment with, the case of the Bvlgari x MB&F Serpenti takes on a three-dimensional approach, albeit with some rather obvious and effective automotive influences.
Inside the complex case, an equally complex movement that breaks all traditional watchmaking conventions, conceived and developed in-house by MB&F. From the beginning, a central idea was to bring Serpenti to mechanical life by animating its eyes.
This has been materialised through revolving hour and minute domes with the left making a full rotation in 12 hours and the right in 60 minutes. The paper-thin domes are machined from solid aluminium to make them as light as possible, requiring innovative milling processes.
Additionally, 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 (18,000bph).
A three-dimensional balance bridge serves as a placeholder 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.
Mechanical Wonder
Flipping the Machine over reveals the power reserve indicator (45 hours), along with some of the other 310 components of the hand-finished movement. MB&F is one of the few remaining brands to uphold artisanal manufacturing processes and to finish components by hand.
This approach is only possible when crafting a very limited number of watches per year. To give you an idea, watchmakers at MB&F can only craft and assemble six to eight Bvlgari x MB&F Serpenti movements per month. As such, a total of 99 pieces will require over a year to deliver.
Watchmaking experts who have been following MB&F will recognise some of the unconventional features of the movement. These are the result of expertise patiently developed across the more than 20 calibres created by MB&F since 2005 – in particular the manual-winding HM10 movement, although significant modifications were required to serve the sleek new Serpenti design.
Buyers looking to get their hands on this particular Serpenti will have to get in line fast. Bvlgari and MB&F are producing three different variations limited to only 33 pieces each. The first comes in a grade 5 titanium case with blue hour and minute domes. The second is housed in an 18K rose gold case and features piercing green eyes. A third version is offered in black PVD-coated stainless steel with vibrant red eyes.
