The Smart Way to Collect the Bvlgari Serpenti
The most expensive Bvlgari Serpenti ever auctioned belonged to Elizabeth Taylor. It was a diamond, emerald, and gold bracelet watch and achieved $974,500 at that record-breaking Christies auction in December 2011. And yes, of course, the provenance is legendary, but so is the Serpenti.
“The serpent is one of the most enduring design motifs in all of jewelry—flowers, tassels, and snakes are at the top of the list,” explains Frank Everett, head of jewelry at Sotheby’s, who has seen and sold his fair share. “From Cleopatra to Queen Victoria to Maria Felix, the serpent endures across time and cultures. But let’s face it: Bvlgari has ‘owned’ the serpent since the 1960s. They have developed and interpreted the serpent in the most innovative ways, with a beautiful array of materials and colors. They may not have been the first, but they are the best.” The numbers don’t lie. Bvlgari Serpentis, especially in gold with a head covered in diamonds, rubies, or emeralds, consistently hit high six figures at auction. A jewelry lover’s favorite, a tiger’s eye ruby and colored diamond Serpenti bracelet, sold for $638,885 in 2018.
Should that matter to a collector? Yes and no. The best advice for both beginner and connoisseur is to buy jewelry with your heart and your head. The wisest collectors love what they acquire but they understand the place each piece has in history too, and its value both culturally and in the market. Icons, those pieces that are signature to a house and that have established themselves as design trademarks, are always a wise investment. They are pieces loved and worn by their owners, that are proven to appreciate in value for generations. The Bvlgari Serpenti began at the Italian house in the late 1940s, first in a more abstract form and then slowly, like its namesake, it revealed itself and began to take shape in brightly colored enameled watches and bracelets. Serpenti has been worn by some of the strongest, and most stylish women in the world, including Liz Taylor, Diana Vreeland, Marisa Berenson, Gina Lollobrigida, Zendaya, Naomi Watts, and Angela Bassett.
Bvlgari celebrated the 75th anniversary of the style in 2023, and desire for it continues to increase and the designs continue to evolve: sometimes you might see a morganite dangling from its mouth, sometimes a crown of aquamarines, sometimes it’s hidden in the clasp of a 140-carat diamond necklace. And look there, two exceedingly rare sapphires, dripping off a pendant.
What draws collectors all to it? The serpent is a figure loaded with meaning: rebirth, transformation, immortality, renewal. It connects the wearer to the past but is filled with the promise of a future. Its presence is as powerful in a simple gold bangle or a rose gold ring, as in a necklace set with 70 rubies or a prized emerald.
Everett has observed this consistent desire for Serpenti, past, present, and future. “Of course the pieces from the 1970s are most coveted,” he says, “but one of the most sought after pieces today is a modern design: the full pavé diamond double wrap necklace in 18k white gold. This is an amazing object as well as a stunning jewel, and a marvel of technical artistry. Remarkably flexible and lifelike, it looks as good coiled up on the coffee table as it does worn to a gala.” For Everett, the Holy Grail Serpenti are “the vintage bracelet watches in colored stones. These are most often seen in enamel, but I especially love the one in shades of pink coral with ruby eyes.”
The history of the Serpenti is long, and rich with choice. Some have scales covered in turquoise, onyx, coral, lapis lazuli. There are necklaces, and cuffs, and watches, and bracelets, and earrings. There are yellow gold tubogas set with colored stones and white gold set with diamonds. They are prized for their design, innovation, materials, and their place in the jewelry canon. It can, because of this, be difficult for a collector to know where to begin. There are the High Jewelry Serpenti presented annually (one-of-a-kind masterpieces set with the rarest of stones); there is the Serpenti you might spy in the boutique window (a yellow gold coiled wonder with emerald eyes, perhaps); or maybe you spotted Serpenti bangles, by the armful, on Zendaya? You could, of course, go big: boldness is a Bvlgari signature, but Everett also offers an easier way in. “I’d start with a ring,” he says. “Rings are smaller, therefore requiring less material and can be more affordable than bracelets or necklaces. And a ring is something you can look at and enjoy all day.”
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