Bvlgari has once again teamed up with MB&F for an exceptional horological creation. The two houses have reimagined Bvlgari’s iconic Serpenti timepiece to create a limited edition watch that has a serious bite.

The Bvlgari x MB&F Serpenti collection is limited to 99 pieces, with only 33 watches in each style being created. The timepiece needed three years of R&D before it finally saw the light of day today at the worldwide launch in Dubai. The result is a watch that blends the sophistication of Bvlgari with the dynamism of MB&F.

“Watchmaking is all about innovation and desirability stemming from the magical fusion of superlative micromechanical expertise with unexpected yet stunning timeless designs. Especially in down-cycles, brands must cross new boundaries and dare to innovate out of the box, under the leadership of managers and designers obsessed with progress, beauty and strategic thinking that drives unexpected initiatives,” says Jean-Christophe Babin, Bvlgari Group CEO about the collaboration.

This Serpenti would look just as striking on the wrist of a man — as it would a woman who has the character to pull it off. It finally invites men into the Serpenti watch world of Bvlgari, which until now had been devoted to women.

This marks the second time Fabrizio Buonamassa, Design Director of Bvlgari watches Maximilian Büsser, the founder of MB&F, have collaborated, and if this is the kind of watch this duo can dream up, the general consensus is they shouldn’t stop now.

Ahead of the launch, MADAME Arabia spoke with Jean-Christophe Babin, Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani and Maximilian Büsser to hear about how the process began.

What makes the Bvlgari x MB&F Serpenti collection unique?

Jean-Christophe Babin: The first reason is, as you know, Bvlgari Serpenti is a leading ladies' watch collection, but also jewellery accessories and it's one of those few watch collections which since inception was a watch for ladies. Most ladies' watches are just smaller men's watches, which have been shrunk a bit and with a bit of pearl and pave diamond. And here you get which is not bad. Some are nice, but they are not really paying tribute to femininity.

For the first time in watchmaking history, a ladies' watch, the Bvlgari Serpenti has given birth to a man's watch. Celebrating female power, the women's watch is now dictating the style of the men's watch.

The second thing is that it has been done by two men in collaboration which is very unique. The beauty of the second collaboration is that, unlike some collaborations, Max and Fabrizio belong to two totally different companies. Max has created his own company with the success we all know. Fauci and I were not as bold as Max, so we have just joined vulnerability, which is also nice, but obviously our shoulders are totally different. So the collaboration was not forced by anyone. It was just driven by reciprocal respect, admiration, and sharing of values.

How did the collaboration aspect come about?

Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani: I don't know the exact moment this came to me. It took almost 10 years but it was difficult for me to have these objects in mind.

After much discussion, I said, 'Okay guys, we need to do this watch and we have to do it in a certain way. I start to make sketches. And immediately, on day two, I thought 'We have to do with Max because his amazing movement is sculptures, and we are very well known for neutral movement. Max is very well known for a totally different approach.

Now, you know the Serpenti in Bvlgari is a three-dimensional object, so the idea was to work with it in a different way and new scale. I drew sketches for two days. The first day was completely wrong. The second day was better. And by the third day, we had the watch, and I sent a message to Max. 'Max, I have an idea. I need to talk with you.' And Max immediately replied, let's do it.

Can you explain the synergy between Bvlgari and MB&F?

Maximilian Büsser: As creators, we are adrenaline junkies. As such, you only get your spike of adrenaline when you take a risk. So you put yourself in danger, to feel alive. That's what we've been doing for 20 years at MB&F and I know that's what Fabrizio has been doing too, so that's why we get along so well together.

So when he started sketching these incredible pieces, I saw, my technical director, who is also my partner in the company, Serge turn white... But if you have a growth mindset compared to a fixed mindset, you actually thrive on difficulty. Each difficulty is an opportunity to put yourself in danger and therefore to learn.

Our team is like that and I know the Bvlgari team is like that, that's why it just works. If you have to collaborate with people only interested in money or those who are just interested in making it easy, it doesn't work in the same way.