ince long ago, Bvlgari has embraced its dual identity as a Roman jeweller and a Swiss watchmaker, with sites and expertise on both sides of the border. But this identity has perhaps never been as clearly expressed as with the new launches at the beginning of this year: the Maglia Milanese Monete and the Tubogas Manchette.

Over the past decade, Bvlgari has accumulated thinness records through the Octo Finissimo, rigorously applying this principle to every complication and every material. Today, that performance-driven watchmaking now merges with the historic jewellery heart of the Roman maison.

Jonathan Brinbaum, Managing Director of Bvlgari Watches

This translates into the rise of women’s mechanical movements, which power these two jewellery watches – respectively the Piccolissimo and Lady Solotempo calibres – even though this specialty has been largely neglected by Swiss watchmaking for half a century.

This new miniaturisation feat has been made possible, among other things, by the expertise acquired in ultra-thin watchmaking and by Bvlgari’s horological ambitions, notably embodied in the recent opening of its vast site in Saignelégier in the Swiss Jura. Expertise that is now more broadly placed at the service of the jewellery watch.

In Milan, during LVMH Watch Week, at Bvlgari’s magnificent boutique on Via Montenapoleone, we met Jonathan Brinbaum, who oversees this alliance of expertise – also the perfect occasion to present the Roman house’s first-ever use of the famed Milanese mesh.

Europa Star: In the “long term” timeframe that characterises the watch industry, at what stage of its development does Bvlgari watchmaking stand?

Jonathan Brinbaum: Bvlgari has gained strong watchmaking legitimacy in recent years. The challenge now is to leverage that credibility to further enrich our historic territory as a jeweller, particularly in women’s movements. We are opening a new chapter in which Bvlgari’s two watchmaking pillars – jewellery watchmaking and performance watchmaking – converge.

When you speak of “performance” watchmaking, are you referring to thinness, which has become something of a Bvlgari specialty?

Not only. I am also referring to miniaturisation, which is precisely what concerns our new women’s mechanical movements. During the quartz crisis, this category of calibres was the first to disappear. And it never truly came back. We believe that Bvlgari, as a jeweller-watchmaker, must reinvest in this field. Our expertise in miniaturisation is not so different from that developed for ultra-thin watchmaking or complications.

Reducing is not simply about removing material; it requires rethinking everything, because everything is constrained within a smaller diameter: the movement’s kinematics, the power reserve, stability, overall aesthetics. Our objective is clear: reduce size while maintaining – or even increasing – performance.

The Maglia Milanese Monete incorporates the Piccolissimo BVP100, measuring 13.50 mm in diameter, 2.50 mm thick and weighing 1.9 g, with a total of 102 components. Created and manufactured by Bvlgari in Le Sentier, Switzerland, this calibre, first introduced in 2022, now appears in a new version featuring a crown and a sapphire caseback to reveal its inner workings.

Precisely, your new Maglia Milanese Monete is equipped with the Piccolissimo calibre. What can you tell us about this movement and its development?

The Piccolissimo BVP100, launched in 2022, is the smallest mechanical movement in our manufacture. For Monete, we transformed it: the addition of a winding stem, a larger crown, and a sapphire caseback. It measures 13.5 mm in diameter and 2.5 mm thick, while retaining 30 hours of power reserve. It is a step into jewellery watchmaking, rooted in Roman antiquity, yet without any compromise on mechanics. Beneath the gold and diamonds, there is true horology!

The Maglia Milanese Monete secret watch revisits the codes of the Monete, launched by Bvlgari in the mid-1960s. Its coin bears the effigy of Emperor Caracalla.

Another new release, the Tubogas Manchette, is powered by your other women’s movement, the Lady Solotempo. Has this calibre also evolved?

Absolutely. The Tubogas Manchette, which revisits a 1974 model with its coloured stones and nearly 12 carats of diamonds, is driven by the automatic Lady Solotempo BVS100 movement. It now offers 50 hours of power reserve, compared with 30 hours previously. This corresponds exactly to the vision I shared earlier: reduce size while maintaining – or even increasing – performance. And to combine performance with the jewellery watch, the two pillars of Bvlgari watchmaking.

But does this correspond to genuine market demand?

Yes. In 2025, we observed strong demand for women’s mechanical movements. Already, 20% of Serpenti Seduttori watches sold were equipped with automatic calibres. And this will continue to grow.

More broadly, how is Bvlgari watchmaking performing in a market that declined overall – by around 2% in 2025?

We have gained market share. Jewellery remains the most dynamic segment in the world of luxury. Our ambition is to attract jewellery clients towards watchmaking. Now that we have acquired technical legitimacy, we can positively contribute to the jewellery watch market by offering credible women’s mechanical movements. That is the full meaning of the new pieces we are presenting at the beginning of this year.

For the first time, Bvlgari is showcasing the traditional art of Milanese mesh. Crafted from interwoven gold threads, this structure was developed by the city’s goldsmiths during the Renaissance. Here, the suppleness of the Milanese mesh is modernised and paired with the Monete design and the warm reflections of gold.

How do you organise this sharing of expertise between watchmaking and jewellery?

For the Tubogas, we strengthened integration between our sites in Valenza (jewellery, ed.) and Neuchâtel (watchmaking). We seek out expertise wherever it resides and are building a genuine ecosystem, with the expansion of our Saignelégier site.

As you mentioned, the start of this year marks a strong return to jewellery with Monete and Tubogas. Beyond their mechanical movements, what developments do these collections feature?

The objective was indeed to place jewellery back at the centre. With Monete, we are presenting an entirely new development, using Milanese mesh for the first time at Bvlgari. We explored our archives and realised we had never worked with it. Historically, it was associated with more entry-level watches. We completely reworked it to give it texture and density while preserving its lightness. For this model, we use an ancient coin bearing the effigy of Emperor Caracalla (who reigned from 198 to 217 AD). The coin symbolises Bvlgari’s Roman heritage.

Equipped with the automatic Lady Solotempo BVS100 movement, introduced last year on the Serpenti Seduttori and Serpenti Tubogas, the Tubogas Manchette revisits a 1974 archival model. It adopts the bold geometry of the original design, with a square dial and a wide bracelet. It is adorned with a chromatic symphony of citrines, rubellites, peridots, amethysts, topazes and spessartites, while nearly 12 carats of diamonds sparkle along its spirals.

And the Tubogas?

Whenever you touch that design, it is always something special. It is a signature. But we are fortunate to have strong creative continuity under the direction of Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani. On one hand, I want to strengthen Bvlgari’s feminine anchoring; on the other, to acquire and retain clients through mechanics. Bvlgari’s icons are perfectly suited to this. Admittedly, volumes are not those of the men’s market, so these are long-term investments. But the potential is considerable.

With a diameter of just 19 mm, a thickness of 3.90 mm and 102 components, the Lady Solotempo calibre weighs only 5 g. Yet it delivers a 50-hour power reserve and operates at a frequency of 21,600 vph. Its round, compact shape harmonises with the curves of Serpenti and also complements other Bvlgari creations.

Another innovation point in the calibres: a QR code. What does it contain?

All our movements now integrate a scannable code. It provides access to all the watch’s information: composition, European standards, technical data, even the watchmaker who assembled it – like a signature. It is a foundation for going further in the future: life cycles, successive owners… Transparency and traceability have become essential. Clients are increasingly well informed.

The Tubogas Manchette introduces a new technique: each link is shaped and polished before being carefully assembled onto a titanium blade. This modular construction allows the motif to ripple along the bracelet, while preserving the flexibility that defines Tubogas.

Before taking the helm of Bvlgari watchmaking, you worked for many years in the fragrance division of the Roman house. Do you see parallels in the development of these two activities?

Like our first watch – the digital-display Bvlgari Roma launched in 1975, which later inspired the Bvlgari Bvlgari with the success we know – Bvlgari fragrance was born in 1992 from gifts offered to clients, before becoming a fully-fledged product category. Both were born in a very organic way.

Gradually, we understood that these gateway products had to match the quality level of the entire house. For fragrance, this resulted in a restriction of distribution, which is now far more selective. It was not an easy decision to make, but it has borne fruit. Today, in watchmaking, one can enter Bvlgari through high jewellery, through exceptional pieces, or through more accessible models – but always with coherence. The alliance between performance and jewellery that we are pursuing today is part of this vision.