Curated: The Shape of Things to Come

Snake Charmer

Sometimes, a watch is just a watch, and sometimes it doubles as a piece of fine jewelry. That’s certainly true for Bulgari’s newest Serpenti Tubogas timepiece. Hand-crafted of 18k gold, the watch features a diamond-set bezel and is powered by an automatic-winding movement.  

Bulgari’s first Serpenti watch, which was introduced in 1948, broke the mold of traditional watches and was a testament to both the brand’s extraordinary jewelry craftsmanship and watchmaking expertise. The unabashedly avant-garde watch featured a coiled gold snake-like bracelet that wrapped snugly around the wrist, with a square head bearing the watch’s dial. The bracelet was handmade in the brand’s now iconic Tubogas style, which was, and is, entirely crafted by hand by carefully wrapping gold strips around a flexible core. The Tubogas’ bracelet design was inspired by corrugated tubes used in the industrial era, according to the brand, and it was flexible and supple, yet strong.  

By the mid-1950s, Serpenti watches had evolved, and featured a more realistic-looking snake head, with a dial that was hidden under a hinged cover resembling a snake’s mouth. In the 1960s, the watch’s bracelet evolved to more closely resemble a snakeskin’s scales, and by the 1970s and 80s, the Serpenti’s bracelet returned to its original Tubogas design.  

The collection has continually evolved ever since. The Serpenti “seduces, enchants, captivates, and inspires desire,” according to the brand. “Since 1948, Serpenti has continually reinvented itself, embodying the essence of perpetual rebirth.”  

Serpenti’s rebirth this year reflects its ongoing evolution in the form of mechanical watchmaking. The watch is powered by Bulgari’s automatic-winding in-house Lady Solotempo movement, which revives “the rich tradition of mechanical watches for women.” For over 75 years, the Serpenti has been an embodiment of extraordinary craftsmanship and sensual elegance and shows no signs of slowing down now.   

Eye Candy

The shape of Piaget’s new Sixtie watches harkens back to 1969, when the brand first introduced trapezoid-shaped timepieces set in sautoir necklaces as part of its 21st Century collection. Now, more than 50 years later, Piaget has revived its distinctive case shape in the form of wristwatches. 

The Sixtie’s bracelet extends the design motif around the wrist. Piaget describes the Sixtie collection as 
“a graceful balance between extravagance and elegance.” The watches’ unique shape “seems to shift between trapeze, square, round or cushion.”

Vintage Vibe

Cartier’s Tank watches have been a design signature for the brand for more than a century. The new Cartier Tank à Guichets, while it retains the classic tank shape, has a decidedly unconventional time display in the form of two small apertures — one for the hours and one for the minutes. 

The new watch’s design was inspired by an archival model from 1928. Unlike most Cartier timepieces, it has a brushed, rather than polished, finish that produces a matte effect. The watch’s crown is placed at 12 o’clock, another nod to the past.  

Double Time

When he founded his eponymous watchmaking manufacture in 1989, Daniel Roth set out to craft watches that were also art objects. The brand is well known for its watches’ distinct double ellipse case shape as well as its superlative mechanics. This year’s Extra Plat watch is a perfect example of the ellipse distilled to its essence in the form of a time-only version in a slim case. The watch’s white gold dial features a handcrafted guilloché en ligne motif and is powered by the brand’s new DR002 manual-winding mechanical movement. 
Distinctive Design 

Patek Philippe introduced the Cubitus collection last year, with an entirely new case shape in the form of a square bezel with rounded corners. The 45mm timepiece’s sporty yet elegant architecture was “a square, circle and octagon in one,” according to the brand, and it featured a horizontally striped dial. This year a new 40mm size was introduced in a white and a rose gold version, featuring dials in blue-gray and brown, respectively. The watches feature Patek Philippe’s self-winding caliber 26-330 S C movement, equipped with a stop-seconds function. 

Architectural Mastery

Since its founding in 2002, De Bethune has been known for its watches’ exceptional mechanics and out-of-the-box designs. The new DB28xs Kind of Blue Tourbillon is a case in point. Featuring the brand’s iconic deltoid shaped dial, the watch’s contemporary architecture combines a “traditional” circular-shaped case with its signature floating lugs, creating a three-dimensional effect. “In aesthetics, it is more about working with light than with shapes,” says De Bethune’s founder and watchmaker Denis Flageollet. The watch’s titanium case is the brand’s signature blue, and its color is achieved by thermal oxidation.