In a unique partnership, Japanese architect and Pritzker Prize winner
Tadao Ando has designed
Bulgari’s new Serpenti Tubogas watch line. The dial of the iconic Bulgari reptile expresses the
changing hues of a forest throughout the seasons, in compositions of
green aventurine, tiger’s eye and white or pink mother-of-pearl . “My goal is to integrate the various forces at work to restore the unity of architecture with nature,” explains Ando. An icon of the Roman maison since the 1940s, the
Serpenti Tubogas is both a jewel-watch and a jewel-watch, representing the ephemeral yet enduring beauty of time. The collaboration is available in four limited editions.
Four seasons
Just as a snake undergoes its transformation, Tadao Ando’s works change with the light and the seasons.
The celebrated architect shaped his design language around the apparent simplicity of forms and the purity of materials, maintaining a direct harmony with nature. Its concrete buildings blend seamlessly into their surroundings, as is the case of the
Hyogo Prefectural Museum , which is set in a magnificent setting overlooking the mountains to the north and the Seto Inland Sea to the south of Japan. In
spring , the openings allow refreshing sunlight to enter the interior spaces. Then the museum adopts a
summer look, all in light and shade, thanks to the coolness of its interior corridors.
Limited editions
To evoke the seasons, Tadao Ando designed a
colorful marquetry , which was then translated onto the dial of the watches by Bulgari craftsmen. The first of the four limited editions is called
Natsu (Japanese for “summer”) and captures the lush intensity of a
sun-drenched forest , with the vivacity of the
slightly translucent green aventurine stone , enriched with dark effects. This striking dial contrasts with
a case and bracelet made of yellow gold and steel .
As autumn ("
aki " in Japanese) approaches, the leaves seem to catch fire. Here,
tiger's eye gives the iconic reptile a warm, golden glow , entirely in
rose gold and accented with a
pink rubellite in the crown .
With the onset of winter (or "
fuyu "), the icy beauty of nature is revealed, symbolized by
white mother-of-pearl marquetry . Its iridescence is complemented by
a shiny steel case and bracelet .
Spring, or
haru , heralds the rebirth of vital energies, a time celebrated in Japan with the blossoming of
sakuras , or
cherry trees – a vision reflected in this limited edition Serpenti watch by delicate
shades of pink mother-of-pearl in marquetry .
The new additions to the Serpenti Tubogas collection will mark the seasons until spring 2025. Each limited edition is presented in a specially designed box signed by Tadao Ando – a detail echoed on the back of each watch case. In addition, a collection of 20 exclusive boxes will accommodate these four creations as a set.
