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.
Tadao Ando x Bulgari
While Tadao Ando and Bulgari have collaborated in the past, this is the first time around Serpenti. In 2020 and 2021, the minimalist designs of the Octo Finissimo captured the essence of time through the pure lines of a spiral and the Mikazuki concept, symbolizing 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.”
Tadao Ando x Serpenti Tubogas
“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 ‘Bulgari 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 molded his design language around the apparent simplicity of forms and the purity of materials, maintaining a direct harmony with nature.
His concrete constructions - a favorite material of his - 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 minimalist lines. In spring, the openings let in invigorating sunlight into the interior spaces. Then the museum slips into its summer clothes, all in chiaroscuro, 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.
Serpenti across the seasons
To evoke the seasons, Tadao Ando envisioned colorful marquetry – of green aventurine, tiger's eye, and pink or white mother of pearl. Bulgari’s artisan-craftspeople skillfully translated this vision onto a watch dial. They began by meticulously selecting the most visually striking fragments of each material. Each piece was then precisely traced and cut. Finally, the fragments were carefully fitted and assembled, creating a play of colors and reflections with organic expressiveness. Highlighting this artistic arrangement, two rows of diamonds set along the serpent's head bring radiant life to this vibrant tableau.
The first of the four limited editions, to be unveiled at the summer solstice, natsu1 , captures the lush intensity of a sun-drenched forest, with the vivacity of slightly translucent green aventurine stone, enriched with chiaroscuro effects. This striking dial contrasts beautifully against a case and bracelet made of yellow gold and steel.
As autumn, aki2 , approaches, the leaves seem to ignite. Here, the tiger's eye lends the iconic reptile a warm, golden glow, set entirely in rose gold and accented with a pink rubellite on the crown. With the onset of winter, fuyu 3 , nature's icy beauty is revealed, symbolized by marquetry of white mother of pearl. Its iridescence is beautifully complemented by a gleaming steel case and bracelet.
Spring, haru 4, heralds the rebirth of vital energies, a time celebrated in Japan with the fleeting bloom of sakura, the cherry blossom trees – a vision encapsulated in this limited Serpenti watch edition by delicate shades of pink mother of pearl marquetry.
These new additions to the Serpenti Tubogas collection will mark the seasons through to spring 2025. Each limited edition is encased in a box specially crafted and signed by Tadao Ando, a detail echoed on the back of each watch case. Moreover, a collection of twenty exclusive boxed sets will present these four creations as an ensemble.
1 Summer in Japanese
2 Autumn in Japanese
3 Winter in Japanese
4 Spring in Japanese
