The Bvlgari X MBF Serpenti is the ultimate collab watch

Intro

When two great minds in Haute Horlogerie cross paths, expect nothing less than the extraordinary. Maximilian Büsser and Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani are the brilliant minds behind the second collaboration watch project, which merges two once-set-apart business models in watch culture and commercial approach.

MB&F is a “think tank” whose mission is to accept challenges and produce what the watchmaking industry thought was impossible; Bvlgari is a luxury powerhouse whose watchmaking department’s projects stand out for their ingenuity across the mainstream industry.

Such a shared vision, building on a convention-defying approach, brought both brands to engineer their most ambitious and unexpected project so far: the Bvlgari X MBF Serpenti.

How MBF turned Serpenti into a men’s watch

The first project’s takeout is mentioned above, and we love to believe that a Bvlgari Serpenti for men (or unisex) is underway at Bvlgari. It looks too good to be true, but never say never! Such projects often work as a test bench for upcoming new collections.

Instead, we see an encounter of a Serpenti with an HM10 Bulldog, which provides the platform whose outcome looks and feels much MB&F and less Bvlgari in form and function.

The Serpenti has grown and popped the HM10 case inside out, extending it to taper a wearer’s wrist. The watch measures 53 x 39 x 18 mm, but its silhouette is so intricate that you’ll need a long list of measurements to try and describe it. In brief, avoid referring to standard specifications; they can hardly describe this beauty.

The case is a complex mixture of curved surfaces and volumes that required several revisions, plus Max and Fabrizio’s close teamwork to approve the final design.

Engineer Vs Designer

If you’re an industry veteran, you’ll confirm how difficult it usually is to assign a development engineer (Max Büsser comes from the EPFL) and a designer (Fabrizio comes from the automotive industry) a common goal and get a flawless execution from concept through product feasibility.

Still, they proved everybody wrong since they worked hand-in-hand thanks to their cross-sector expertise, challenging spirit, friendship, mutual respect and unwavering passion for uniqueness.

Büsser also loves design other than priding himself with a holistic approach to watchmaking. He knows that the most technologically advanced timepiece needs a bold, out-of-the-box design to become a unicorn.

Fabrizio, on the other hand, expanded his expertise well beyond style by working on one of the most challenging contemporary watchmaking projects (Finissimo), and that is why his technical acknowledgement was key to breaking the rules and setting multiple records with the Finissimo saga; to such an extent to let Bvlgari join the watchmaking industry’s greats.

Is it a car or a spaceship?

While looking at the case from different angles, your imagination goes wild: we met Fabrizio so often that he can hardly hide his enduring passion for automobiles.

No doubt, he is the most prolific car designer on social media. As long as Max is regarded, he loves cars but extends his childhood interest to spaceships and robots.

The Bvlgari x Serpenti is not far from those spaceships from outer space that suddenly landed on planet Earth, as seen in most sci-fi series during the late seventies. The Serpenti virus has indeed “infected” the MBF case’s overall design, but the outcome is very “Indie” instead.

Similarities

In perspective, the Bvlgari X MBF Serpenti reminds me of some Parmigiani x Bugatti creations, like the Vitesse 372, one of my favorites ever.

The outcome is so powerful that you find countless sources of inspiration. The curved lugs, shaped like a snake’s fangs, remind me of a Bugatti Atlantic’s chassis.

The MBF traits are in the ultra-thin aluminium rotating hour and minute domes, hand-painted with Super-LumiNova. A re-engineered mechanical movement builds on the 2.5 Hz movement, with 45 hours of power reserve housed in the HM10, redesigned to fit the new case.

A power reserve indicator is visible on the movement’s side. In contrast, the dial’s side features the signature suspended balance wheel with a curved bridge on top, sporting the co-branding signature. The escapement is located on the main plate as usual.

From above, the case’s shape looks like a sports car’s cockpit in front with a back covered by a stepped sapphire glass protecting the engine bay, whose cylinder heads end with a hexagonal pattern, a direct reference to Serpenti (and, perhaps, to Lamborghini).

Turn the crown at the top left, and you’ll hand-wind the movement; turn the one at the top right and set the hours and minutes instead. Tearing down the case proves the build is intricate and helps explain why achieving thirty-meter water resistance was hard.

Final thoughts

MB&F will craft three options: titanium, black PVD-treated steel, and rose gold, for 99 pieces. Despite being all pieces most probably sold out already, the listed price starts from 140,000 euros (titanium or steel) and stops at 161,000 euros for the rose gold model. The case is secured to a blue, black, or green Velcro strap.

The Bvlgari x MBF Serpenti is an unusual, jaw-dropping collaboration watch. In our opinion, it will strengthen Bvlgari’s watchmaking pedigree, which confirms how they endorse one-of-a-kind projects and those that refuse the ordinary.

(Photo credit: MB&F, Bvlgari)

Giovanni Maria Di Biase @Horbiter®