You might not think that ‘80s extravagance, Italian tradition and high jewelry excellence could come together in a pleasing way.

Well, based on the new Wild Pop offerings from Roman watchmaker and jeweler Bulgari, think again…

On a wild night in Rome last week, Bulgari unveiled its Wild Pop collection of watches and jewelry.

Inspired by the ‘80s, Bulgari used all its high jewelry and watchmaking skill to present some truly remarkable pieces, including two versions of the Serpenti Misteriosi Pallini High Jewellery secret watch, two versions of the Serpenti Misteriosi My Handcuff watch and the Monete Jewelry necklace secret watch.

The Serpenti, which is one of Bulgari’s most popular collections in watch and jewelry, in the Misteriosi Pallini iteration brings together high jewelry manufacturing techniques in a secret watch. The 40mm 18K white gold case is set with brilliant-cut diamonds, with two pear-shaped emeralds for the eyes, while the gold dial showcases even more diamonds. The 18K rose gold body is also set with diamonds, as is the white gold tail.

In the second version of the Misteriosi Pallini, diamonds and emeralds share the stage on the 18K white gold case, dial and bracelet.

Two versions of the Serpenti Misteriosi My Handcuff watch continue the Serpenti theme, one with a white gold and malachite cuff, with the serpent set with diamonds, and the other with a white gold and onyx cuff, also with the diamond-set serpent. The malachite version’s serpent head has pear-shaped rubellites for eyes, while the onyx version uses pear-shaped emeralds.

Finally, the last spectacular piece is the Monete Jewelry necklace secret watch in pink gold. This is set with an ancient silver coin – a Tetradrachm of Kyme in Aeolis, 2nd century BC, to be exact. The dial of the secret watch is malachite, and the 18K rose gold case is set with brilliant-cut diamonds and emeralds. The rose gold chain is set with malachite and diamonds.

In-House Specialty

The amount of work that goes into these incredible pieces is phenomenal and is all done in-house in the workshops of Bulgari. The entire collection was inspired by Andy Warhol, who was a huge admirer of Bulgari, when Lucia Silvestri, Bulgari’s Creative Director, visited the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in New York City. While there, she saw all the Bulgari material, catalogs, correspondence and more, in the artist’s archive, and was reminded to continue to be ground-breaking and innovative. “I wanted to do something about this fantastic dialogue between Bulgari and Andy Warhol,” Silvestri explains. She remembered the most important lesson she learned working with Nicola and Paolo Bulgari: “You have to dare.”

The new Wild Pop collection from Bulgari, with its vibrant mix of color, gemstones and high jewelry workmanship, is, as a starting point, certainly daring.

And as you discover the details, you can’t help but be impressed.