On paper, the Serpenti Seduttori Tourbillon already sounds pretty awesome. When the Seduttori watches launched last year, it was only made available with a quartz movement. Now, it’s returned with not just a mechanical movement, but a manual-winding tourbillon movement that Bulgari claims is the smallest ladies’ tourbillon on the market.

But to truly understand why the Bulgari Serpenti Seduttori Tourbillon is such an amazing achievement — let’s briefly talk about what makes the Serpenti such an iconic collection.

The Serpenti was born right in 1948 after World War II, when the brand unveiled the Tubogas watch; the polished coil of gold with a functional watch was seen as a more practical and acceptable form of ornamentation in the post-war years.

Since then, the Serpenti collection has gone through many evolutions and shed its skin many times over. But like its inspiration, the serpent-shaped watch with its world-famous coiled bracelet has always sprung back from its reinventions, fresher, bolder and more appealing than ever.

From its more abstract beginnings, the Serpenti began to take on a more naturalistic shape, the serpent-shaped head as we have now come to embrace was first included in the 1950s versions, with a hinged cover under which watch movements supplied by Jaeger-LeCoultre, Vacheron Constantin or Piaget could be found.

It grew more and more extravagant in the decades that followed. From the La Dolce Vita era of the 1960s, to the logo-mania in the 1980s, and its transition into high jewellery pieces in the 2000s, the Serpenti evolved with the times, never content with standing still.

In more recent years, the Serpenti has only continued to grow. In 2016, Bulgari launched the Serpenti Incantati, a wild departure from the more familiar snake coil. Instead the serpent wrapped its body around the bezel on the round watch, with its head resting over its tail. The tourbillon version of the Serpenti Incantati was the first time in three decades that a mechanical movement was brought back into the collection. A hugely significant move in my books, it was an indication that women have move past desiring only gemstones, to wanting complexity in their watches as well.

2017 was the birth of the Serpenti Twist, another clear sign that the Serpenti was evolving to cater to a younger audience. The serpent-shaped dial was paired with double-wrap textured leather straps, possibly one of the most casual versions of the Serpenti to date.

And now, we’ve reached 2019, where the Serpenti Seduttori takes the spotlight. With the Serpenti Seduttori, Bulgari has struck the perfect balance between simplicity and elegance — it is not as casual as the Serpenti Twist, and yet, not as extravagant as the gold-wrapped coils. It falls somewhere in between, its smooth and supple links a pretty and tamed down version of the scales that adorned the high jewellery Serpenti of the past.

The Serpenti Seduttori of 2019 all housed quartz movements. In 2020, they’re back with a manual-winding tourbillon movement in three versions. There is one in white gold with paved diamonds and another in rose gold with paved diamonds, both fitted with a leather strap. The third version is the most blinged out, in white gold with paved diamonds and a matching scaled bracelet totalling over 7.5 carats of diamonds.

Inside the Serpenti Seduttori Tourbillon is the BVL150 Calibre, the smallest tourbillon on the market, made possibly by combining Bulgari’s expertise in jewellery-making and its savour-faire in watchmaking. The movement is viewable from the transparent sapphire caseback; it features a sapphire bridge, and is rhodium-plated and hand-decorated with Côtes de Genève, pelage and bevelling.

And so, the most important part of the Serpenti Seduttori Tourbillon isn’t just its commendable milestone of creating a truly amazing complication for women. It is its ability to successfully shed its skin time after time, capturing the hearts of women through the decades with each rebirth.

[td_block_text_with_title custom_title=”Technical Specifications”]

Movement: Calibre BVL150; hours, minutes, tourbillon, power reserve of 40 hours

Case: 34mm white gold or rose gold with paved diamonds, water resistant to 30m

Strap: Blue or brown leather strap, or white gold paved diamond bracelet[/td_block_text_with_title]