Whenever Bulgari introduces a new Serpenti, we see a familiar chorus of articles and reactions, often but not always from male members of the watch media, opining on the possibility of a “Serpenti for men”. We don’t like to gender watches around here and firmly believe that anyone can wear anything they’d like, but there’s also no point in denying that the Serpenti, for its entire history, has been aimed squarely at the ladies market, and that the watch itself, insofar as it resembles a piece of fine jewelry, possesses a certain inherent femininity. So the thought experiment of what a Serpenti that is truly gender neutral or even designed for a male wrist has persisted (even though it’s perfectly fine for some watches to just be what they are). Today, through a collaboration with MB&F, we get an answer, kind of.
The Bulgari x MB&F Serpenti is an audacious reimagining of the core Serpenti idea, which is to interpret the body of a snake as a time telling device. MB&F, of course, is the perfect collaborator for an endeavor like this. They’re no strangers to taking the essence of a living thing and turning it into a horological work of art. After frogs and bulldogs, the snake seems like a comfortable next step in populating the MB&F zoo.
The new creation, unlike a Serpenti Tubogas that is meant to wrap around a wrist, is worn like a traditional watch, at least in the sense that it consists of a case with a strap mounted to either end of it. That case though, typical of MB&F Horological Machines, has a completely unique construction and measurements that defy reason and logic. This one measures 39mm wide, 18mm thick, and 53mm from lug to lug. The “snake” of it all is readily apparent when viewed from the narrow, 12:00 side of the case, which narrows to evoke a serpent’s nose. To my eye, the undulating curves throughout the rest of the case body would seem to indicate that the snake is poised to strike at any moment.
A total of five sapphire crystals have been used on the Serpenti, one at the “nose” at the rear of the case, another in the broad middle section showing off the balance spring, two more flanking this large main crystal under which you can see the time telling discs, and of course the display caseback showing off the caliber. The time telling mechanism borrows heavily from the aforementioned HM10 Bulldog, which also used a pair of discs at the front for the hours and minutes, and dual crowns at the back (one for winding, one for setting).
The Bulgari x MB&F Serpenti is available in three different case metals: 18K rose gold, grade 5 titanium, and black PVD coated stainless steel. All, of course, are delightfully ludicrous in their own way, with the gold version perhaps linking most closely with what we expect from a traditional Serpenti, and the titanium feeling like a core MB&F creation. I’m quite partial, though, to the black coated version, which has red accents (the gold and titanium feature green and blue, respectively) and feels, somehow, like the most aggressive of the three. Also, isn’t there a story somewhere about a snake and an apple? The black and red just makes sense to me.
Someone asked me recently a version of that question that we all get sometimes: what watch would we buy with an unlimited amount of money? Without even thinking about too much, just as a reflex, my mind immediately went to MB&F. While I probably lean a bit more toward Legacy Machines than the Horological Machines, they all spark something in me, and collectively represent some of the most radical creative thinking in the watch space over the past two decades. That’s something that’s truly worth celebrating, so it’s always a real pleasure to see a new MB&F creation hit the market, and even more so when it’s the product of a collaboration with a similarly adventurous design oriented brand like Bulgari.
The steel and titanium versions of the Bulgari x MB&F Serpenti each have a retail price of $148,000. The solid gold version retails for $170,000. Each metal is a limited run of 33 pieces each. MB&F
