he very first artistic collaboration on the Serpenti Tubogas collection celebrates the fleeting splendor of nature, a theme dear to Japanese architect Tadao Ando. Green aventurine, tiger’s eye, and either white or pink mother of pearl – the watch face of Bulgari’s iconic reptile expresses the changing hues of a forest across the seasons.
While Tadao Ando and Bulgari have collaborated in the past, this is the first time around Serpenti. In 2020 and 2021, the simple designs of the Octo Finissimo captured the essence of time through the pure lines of a spiral and the Mikazuki concept, symbolising the waxing crescent moon.
Here, the artistic and conceptual journey shared by the architect and the Roman Maison around the theme of time enters a new realm, expressed in four limited editions within the hallmark Serpenti collection. “Tadao Ando possesses a rare creativity, inspired by nature and its transient character,” appreciates Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, Executive Director of Product Creation.
Ando himself notes, “I aim to integrate the various forces at play, to restore the unity of architecture with nature.“His designs blend the aesthetics of perception and principles of circularity in harmony with natural light, establishing a direct connection with the environment. As Buonamassa Stigliani explains, “Aligning with Serpenti felt instinctive. In a metaphor for time and transformation, indeed for the renewal of nature itself: the serpent likewise sheds its skin and emerges anew, its colors transformed.”
“The power of Serpenti lies in its ability to reinvent itself, without merely repeating itself or obscuring the richness of its heritage,” observes Valeria Tschan-Céré, a collector, in the book ‘Bvlgari Beyond Time’. Deeply rooted in nature’s primal energy and rhythms, Serpenti acts as a talisman, inhabited by this primitive power. An absolute icon of Bulgari style since the 1940s, Serpenti Tubogas is both jewel-reptile and reptile-jewel, capable of metamorphosis and rebirth, perfectly capturing the ephemeral yet enduring beauty of time.
Just as a snake goes through its transformation, Tadao Ando’s works change with the seasons and the light. The celebrated architect has moulded his design language around the apparent simplicity of forms and the purity of materials, maintaining a direct harmony with nature.
His concrete constructions blend seamlessly into their surroundings, as in the case of the Hyogo Prefectural Museum, located in a magnificent setting overlooking the mountains to the north and the Seto Inland Sea to the south. The Japanese architect’s emblematic creations are built around natural light, interacting with his refined lines. In spring, the openings let in invigorating sunlight into the interior spaces. Then the museum slips into its summer clothes, all in light and shade, thanks to the coolness of the interior corridors.
Consequently, Serpenti now more profoundly reflects the realms of fauna, flora, and aesthetics than before, mirroring the forest and adapting with the seasons’ cycles. The reptile coils around the wrist, adorned with fragments of gemstones or mother of pearl that echo Tadao Ando’s architectural vision with their harmonious, straight, and raw lines.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Movement
- Quartz movement
Case and Dial
- 35 mm steel curve case with a steel bezel set with 38 diamonds (0,29ct)
- Steel crown set with a cabochon-cut stone
- Green aventurine, tiger’s eye, and either white or pink mother of pearl
- 1 twirl steel bracelet. Existing in two sizes 135mm and 145mm
The case back is personalised with Tadao Ando’s signature and “Tadao Ando Limited Edition” engraving.
