Sometimes even a time-only movement’s debut can be an exciting development — and who else to count on than Bulgari for such a premier? Behold the Bulgari Lady Solotempo Automatic, also known as the Bulgari BVS100 Automatic caliber, which is completely new for the brand and was designed specifically to power watches in which the brand hitherto more or less only used quartz movements. Just as exciting, Bulgari developed this movement not just for itself, but also for its sister brands within LVMH.
The Bulgari BVS100 — or Lady Solotempo, which sounds much nicer and more romantic — is the third caliber the Italian-Swiss watchmaker developed for women’s watches. It follows in a path forged by the ultra-compact BVL150 Tourbillon, one of the smallest shaped tourbillon watches available today (pictured left, below), and the Piccolissimo which is among the smallest mechanical movements produced today (pictured right, below). We looked at the “art of miniaturization” and the creation of Piccolissimo here. As you can see, the Lady Solotempo fits in between the two and because it is larger it certainly offers a more robust construction, relatively easier production in higher quantities, and a longer power reserve (50 instead of 30 hours).
Bulgari chose the year of the snake to equip its serpent-themed Serpenti watches for what the brand emotionally calls “eternity.” Sure, a mechanical movement does project the ideal of eternal durability and sustainability, but I doubt the quartz versions of these mighty fine and equally expensive gold (and sometimes steel) Serpenti watches would ever be considered disposable by their owners. After all, where do you go from a Serpenti? I lamented that thought late last year.
According to the brand, the BVS100 took three years to develop and is produced and assembled entirely at Bulgari’s Swiss manufactures. The brand needed its own movement because none on the market met the size and volume criteria of the Serpenti watch head — which, mind you, had to be redesigned slightly, but more on that later. I often wonder why certain manufactures, when creating a new movement, don’t always push for greater performance or more comfort features like a longer power reserve.
Despite its tiny size — just 19mm wide and 3.90mm thick — the Bulgari Lady Solotempo movement offers a 50-hour power reserve. Not too shabby from a movement that weighs a barely believable 5 grams with all parts fully assembled. That’s 0.176 ounces. That autonomy is replenished by a self-winding system with an oscillating weight adorned with the Serpenti scales — though they remind me less of scales and more of glazed windows and medieval ceiling structures in architecture. In the metal, the BVS100 is a pretty-looking movement that does not try to hide behind a modern industrial look. It looks robust, colorful, and intricate. I particularly liked the little cut-out to assess the connection between the pallet jewel and the tooth of the escape wheel, which is probably more for quality control purposes than decorative.
It is always a treat to see an uncased movement, as it allows for unobstructed and more in-depth scrutiny. Perhaps the most surprising and overwhelming feeling I got from handling the Bulgari Lady Solotempo movement was just how robust it felt. Small and thin movements have a tendency to be fragile, and even large and complex calibers can at times look (and, in their operation, feel) fragile, too. I would not go so far as to call the BVS100 a “workhorse” movement, although it does have the proportions and features of one — like the massive ball bearing that holds the rotor and the traversing balance bridge.
The watch head of both the Serpenti Tubogas and the Serpenti Seduttori (the one without the wrap-around bracelet) had to be redesigned to incorporate Bulgari women’s watch mechanical movement. My long-term impression of Bulgari’s largely unchanged design team is that they enjoy a challenge — only to create something that looks good without conveying just how difficult the process might have been. It’s like with car design: Certain shapes and solutions appear simple until you take a paper and pencil and try to draw the same — not invent something new, or better, just replicate on paper what’s already done and is right there in front of you.
While the Serpenti Tubogas tends to steal the show most of the time, on this occasion, equipped with the mechanical caliber, it was the Serpenti Seduttori that really stood out. While the Tubogas has what appears to be a thicker case profile (utilizing compound curves to hide its extra heft from every angle other than exactly sideways), the Seduttori received a thick and convex case profile. This super-smooth, dense-feeling, heavily curved edge feels fantastic to the touch. It starts from under 6 o’clock as it extends into the lug that holds the bracelet, arches out and towards a redesigned crown (that is larger for easier use of the movement) and narrows right down as it turns into the upper lugs. It appears to have always been this way, but for some reason, the mechanical movement really brought this to the fore.
It is also worth noting just how natural a match this movement is to these women’s watch cases. It is extremely rare to find movements that are proportionate to the size of the case — the large-watch trend has all but destroyed even the consideration of this matter by most watchmakers and we have begun a slow return to a better case-movement balance only recently. With the Lady Solotempo, Bulgari has created a movement that does, indeed, make a bespoke impression, one that appears to be in its third or fourth generation with multiple rounds of fine-tuning and evolution.
From the front, a prominent “automatic” label on the dial reassures the wearer — and their peers — that these are, indeed, the mechanical versions of Bulgari’s famous women’s watch collections. How much of a difference this will make really depends on who you ask. Some will continue to prefer the quartz-powered versions which, make no mistake, will very much remain in production. Their reasoning might be the fact that some of these are not exactly daily-wearer watches (the Seduttori certainly is, and some argue that even the Tubogas model could be worn day-to-day because it is much more comfortable than its shape would suggest), and with a quartz movement, they can always expect these to be on time. An important consideration will also be price, as the Serpenti Seduttori in steel with a diamond bezel goes from $7,550 USD to $10,200 USD, while the Serpenti Tubogas that you see above in rose gold with diamonds goes from $47,100 USD to $52,000 USD.
Last, but certainly not least, it has to be said that Bulgari quality continues to be impressive. Yes, these are very expensive products, but if a strong sense of quality from wrist-feel to close scrutiny were a general thing among luxury products, we would not have to highlight this specifically. Alas, we do. It could be assumed that Bulgari would want to get away with the unique design and status of its high-end women’s watches, but a close look at that dial (see above, for example), the finishing of the case (look at that caseback above) or the execution of the new BVS100 movement, all indicate the brand’s intent to match an elevated price point with quality.
A cool detail that is important to note when it comes to this new Bulgari women’s watch mechanical movement, the Lady Solotempo, is that it will be included in the future catalog of in-house movements available to other LVMH group brands. As well-equipped a watch manufacture as Bulgari is, it does not appear to have the capacity to deliver such production quantities, so the group confirms that the BVS100 will be produced by Zenith in its manufacture. The brand says, “Bulgari is proud to contribute to the manufacturing ecosystem established by LVMH in support of Watchmaking excellence and craftsmanship in Switzerland” — I am sure it is. Isn’t it strange how Bulgari became the movement-developing powerhouse in a group of Zenith, TAG Heuer, and Hublot?
The Bulgari Serpenti Seduttori Automatic in steel with a diamond bezel is priced at $10,200 USD, while the Bulgari Serpenti Tubogas Automatic in rose gold with diamonds is priced at $52,000 USD. You can learn more at the brand’s website.
