Shortly after winning the Jewellery award at this year’s Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève for Serpenti Misteriosi Cleopatra, Bulgari arrived at Dubai Watch Week to unveil three new magnificent additions to its Divas’ Dream Peacock collection. We took a closer look at these four new horological masterpieces from the house of Bulgari.
Serpenti Misteriosi Cleaopatra
Two years ago, Bulgari won the GPHG Aiguille d’or. Last year the Serpenti Misteriosi Piccolissimo and Octo Finissimo Ultra watches won first prizes in the famed Jewellery and Audacity categories. This year, Bulgari’s winning streak continued with the Serpenti Misteriosi Cleopatra, which won the Jewellery award at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.
Serpenti Misteriosi Cleopatra – a high-jewellery, one-of-a-kind cuff watch – is the latest chapter in Bulgari’s love affair with the iconic serpent, and is part of a new chapter in Bulgari’s Colour Treasures series. Though unmistakably contemporary, its style is reminiscent of the cuff bracelets worn by the rulers of Ancient Egypt, and Cleopatra, both in real life and on film. In 1962 Elizabeth Taylor was photographed wearing an exquisite gold Serpenti bracelet-watch while on the set of the film Cleopatra.
While other Bulgari serpents have coiled themselves around the wrist, the Serpenti Misteriosi Cleopatra is a flexible manchette or cuff watch in 18kt rose gold. The design of the watch focuses on the snake’s scales, achieved through a colourful combination of smooth-surfaced gemstones surrounded by snow-set diamonds. Each of the three-dimensional scales is unique in shape and size to ensure the conical-shaped cuff is fluid and comfortable to wear.
The faceted hexagonal gemstones used on the Serpenti Misteriosi Cleopatra include amethysts, citrines, an aquamarine, rubellite, Chrome tourmaline, tanzanite and a peridot with a total weight of over 50 carats. These are accompanied by close to 4,000 snow-set diamonds. Setting the gemstones alone took more than 470 hours of meticulous work, with each of the six-sided gems custom cut to fit the design, sacrificing up to two-thirds of their volume to achieve the perfect clarity, brilliance and saturation of colour.
The dial of this unique piece of horological art is entirely set with diamonds and covered with a facetted hexagonal transparent rubellite, originally measuring nearly 10 carats.
Divas’ Dream Peacock Feather Marquetry
The feather marquetry on the dial is an ode to the naturally luxurious plumage of the blue peacock, featuring twelve spectacularly hued feathers. These feathers are naturally shed by the bird and are meticulously selected for their extraordinary colours and textures. They are then inlaid using an extremely meticulous process that takes several days. Each feather is passed through an antique brass steam machine to reveal its natural lustre. It is then cut, assembled, glued and cut to compose a mosaic shimmering with silky reflections.
This quartz movement watch’s 33mm case, bezel and crown are in 18K rose gold. The bezel is set with round brilliant-cut diamonds while the fan-shaped links are set with 28 round brilliant-cut diamonds. The crown has a cabochon-cut sapphire. The strap is a green alligator with a rose gold pin buckle set with 0.29ct diamonds. It is water-resistant to 30 meters.
Divas’ Dream Peacock Mother-Of-Pearl Marquetry
The dial of this watch portrays the regal silhouette of a peacock in gold and mother-of-pearl. Its fan-shaped feathers sweep across the lower dial, while a tuft adorns its head, complete with a beak in rose gold. Set against this is a delicate backdrop of white mother-of-pearl engraved with rays.
Creating this mother-of-pearl marquetry demands immense finesse due to the material’s fragility. The mother-of-pearl elements are painted on the reverse to introduce varying shades of blue, then intricately cut and set into recesses carved directly into the dial. Flush inlays, outlined in rose gold, accentuate the organic iridescence of the mother-of-pearl.
The 33mm case, bezel and crown of this quartz-powered watch is 18K rose gold. The bezel is set with 48 round brilliant cut diamonds. The fan-shaped links are set with 28 round brilliant cut diamonds, while six brilliant-cut diamonds function as hour-markers. The crown has a cabochon-cut pink rubellite. There are a total of 82 diamonds of around 1.28ct. The strap is blue alligator with a rose gold pin buckle set with 0.29ct diamonds. It is water-resistant to 30 meters.
Divas’ Dream Peacock Precious Marquetry Jumping Hours And Retrograde Minutes
The peacock comes to life on the dial of this exceptional timepiece. A sapphire dome floats above the three-dimensional layered marquetry inspired by the mosaics of the Roman Baths of Caracalla. It depicts the intricate detail of the peacock’s plumage using rose gold, snow-set diamonds, aventurine, and malachite. The peacock’s eye is an emerald. The 37mm case, bezel are crown are in 18K rose gold. The bezel is set with round brilliant-cut diamonds. The links have snow-cut diamonds and round brilliant-cut diamonds of 2.88ct.
The open caseback reveals the BVL 262 mechanical self-winding movement. The 6.1 mm thick calibre with a 42-hour power reserve orchestrates the unique time display of the watch. The “jumping” hours appear in the aperture at twelve o’clock. A retrograde hand, located at the upper part of the dial, indicates the minutes. To avoid overshadowing the time display, its stem is crafted from transparent sapphire, and extended by a metallic tip. The strap is green alligator with a rose gold folding buckle set with 0.55ct diamonds. This watch is water-resistant to 50 meters.
