Before dismissing the Bvlgari Serpentis from the class of 2025, we promise you that it is different and worth your while this time. This is the Serpenti that alters Bvlgari’s trajectory for the better, timed ever so precisely to coincide with the Lunar New Year of the Snake. Before diving into details, cursory glances suggest this is yet another Roman homologation of their iconic reptilian-inspired watch, or is it? Squint your eyes and notice the never-before-seen “AUTOMATIC” text on the dial before marvelling at the brilliant bit of engineering glistening through the exhibition case back. Yes, it is Bvlgari’s brand new in-house automatic movement, the BVS100 Lady Solotempo Automatic. This bit of news can either excite or bore you, and if you are part of the former, read on to find out more. No judgement if you are in the latter camp; the key takeaway is that Bvlgari is serious, very serious, about one of its key women’s collections.
Official statements from Bvlgari noted that the manufacture took three years of development to finally put out the Lady Solotempo Automatic movement. Given Bvlgari’s feat in ultra-thin watchmaking evident in its high jewellery counterpart, the Piccolissimo Calibre BVL 100, this iteration’s release feels a tad bit protracted. But as they say, “It’s better late than never.” As its Solotempo namesake suggests, the time-only calibre displays the hours, minutes and seconds. It is a small movement, measuring 19mm across and 3.9mm thick and weighing five grams, designed to fit Bvlgari’s svelte and dainty range of Serpenti watches. For comparison’s sake, the manual winding BVL 100 is 12mm wide, 2.5mm thick and weighs a feather-light 1.3 grams while providing 30 hours of power reserve. On the flip side, the BVS100 delivers an impressive 50-hour power reserve in line with movements that are easily double its size.
Before touching on the watches, there is one final crucial bit of information worth pointing out — the BVS100 movement will be shared with other maisons within the LVMH Group. The press release states, “The BVS100 ladies’ movement, developed and currently produced by Bvlgari in Le Sentier, is expected to be included in the future catalogue of in-house movements available to other LVMH group Maisons and to be manufactured by Zenith in its Movement Manufacture. Bvlgari is proud to contribute to the manufacturing ecosystem established by LVMH in support of Watchmaking excellence and craftsmanship in Switzerland.”
Nine references across two families are amongst Bvlgari’s initial offerings that are housing the BVS100 movement, with the majority (seven) skewed towards the Bvlgari Serpenti Seduttori Automatic. The lineup includes twp stainless steel, two-tone stainless steel and rose gold, and a full yellow or rose gold piece, all adorned with a diamond bezel. Two other high jewellery pieces are available as well, clad in white or yellow gold and fully encrusted with 273 round brilliant cut diamonds totalling 2.4 carats across its dial, case and hexagonal-scale bracelet. The remaining two references are part of the Bvlgari Serpenti Tubogas Automatic lineup featuring a rose gold case and either a single or double-loop bracelet.
Once you are done with this story, click here to catch up with our February 2025 issue.