Timeless: Bulgari x Jaeger-LeCoultre Serpenti bracelet

Timeless: Bulgari x Jaeger-LeCoultre Serpenti bracelet

A piece of history

The Italian luxury label teamed up with the famous Swiss watchmaker for a collaboration of mythical proportions. (Image: 1stdibs)

Sure, snakes mightn’t be everyone’s proverbial cup of tea, but they’re not all without their charm — especially in the form of stunning, statement wrist candy.

Back in the 1960s, when hemlines were higher and creativity became less confined, Italian jewellery and luxury goods maker Bulgari teamed up with Swiss watch house JaegerLe-Coultre on a limited edition collaboration of enamel and gemstone bracelet watches — only 100 were ever produced in this series. This piece is one of the best kept examples of this elusive collection.

Open up – encased in the serpent’s mouth is a classic JaegerLe-Coultre movement. (Image: 1stdibs)

An 18 carat gold, thrice-coiled serpent is the star of the show polychromatic show here, while the two, 0.5 carat, pear-shaped white diamonds that form the eyes add that extra bit of sparkle. This is one of the rare snakes that you can control — opening up the mouth reveals an elegant JaegerLe-Coultre movement.

This wasn’t Bulgari’s first ophidian timepiece, though — its first venture into the watch world was in the late 1940s, and also in the form of a snake. The label sourced movements from not only JaegerLe-Coultre, but other big players like Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin. The idea itself was an effort to breathe new life into Bulgari’s popular serpent bracelets of the Art Deco period — since then, they’ve produced a number of different snake-form watches.

Only 100 of these statement pieces were released into the wild. (Image: 1stdibs)

Named Tubogas, or “gas pipe”, the snake watches — and subsequent designs in this form — use a special technique to create the chain in which two long metal wire bands are merged without soldering, the end result being sleek and flexible. The Tubogas technique has been used by Bulgari to create necklaces, bracelets, rings and watches since the 1950s.

A modernist masterpiece, this bracelet has got us in a spin this week.