Bulgari x MB&F Serpenti: an horological machine for the wrist

watches with snake-like faces — The Bulgari x MB&F Serpenti watches

(Image credit: Bulgari x MB&F)

For the uninitiated, Bulgari's Italian savoir-faire seems an unlikely match with the futurist tech of MB&F, Switzerland’s flag bearer for independent watchmaking. But the recently released and reimagined Serpenti is, in fact, the second collaborative effort.

Originally debuted in the 1940s, the Bulgari Serpenti range is inspired by the snake. Early designs featured coiled bracelets with concealed, or ‘mystery’, dials, leaning heavily on the brand’s Italian heritage. The 1960s introduced the twisted flex of the Tubogas technique, and in 2023, the Bulgari Serpenti Tubogas Infinity offered a sleek celebration of the Serpenti range's 75th anniversary with gem-set splendour. Fast-forward to January 2025, and Bulgari finally unveiled the Serpenti Tubogas and Seduttori models with mechanical movements within their snake-like heads. With a stronger focus on the actual watch within the serpent, Bulgari now offers a normal bracelet with a scale-like pattern and several models, including double-twirl rose-gold bracelets and diamond-set extravagance.

But despite the Serpenti’s evolution as a timeless calling card for Bulgari, there has not been a model for men, until now. The Bvlgari x MB&F Serpenti incorporates MB&F's micro-engineering, visible through a sapphire rear crystal and four sapphire windows. The movement appears like an engine in a racing car, its immensely large 14mm balance slowly oscillating.

It is a collaborative effort in which the flowing lines of Buonamassa Stigliani’s pen are clearly present. The case is quite large compared to its luxuriously decorated Italo-Swiss spirit animal, at 39mm x 53mm lug to lug. But through an ingenious move, twin crowns double as pivot points for articulated lugs, and the watch will sit comfortably on the wrist with its fabric strap.

Time is viewed on aluminium domed discs within the right and left front apertures, with bright colours matched by bridgework in the rear. The striated window will remind many of a louvred window to a mid-mounted V12 engine, and each strap matches the coloured detail. Max Busser and his scientist-watchmakers developed the manual-winding MB&F in-house movement with its 45-hour power reserve.

The appeal of brands like MB&F lies in the delicate juxtaposition of traditional details, like a hand-bevelled edge on a movement bridge with cutting-edge futurism. This is encapsulated in the body created by Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, where another duality comes to the fore, in a reference to both the serpent and the aerodynamic traits of a racing car.

The Bulgari x MB&F Serpenti is being offered in three editions, each limited to 33 pieces in a choice of metals, in rose gold or titanium.

The Bulgari x MB&F Serpenti starts at CHF 132,000, mbandf.com

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Thor Svaboe is a seasoned writer on watches, contributing to several UK publications including Oracle Time and GQ while being one of the editors at online magazine Fratello. As the only Norwegian who doesn’t own a pair of skis, he hibernates through the winter months with a finger on the horological pulse, and a penchant for independent watchmaking.