Bulgari kicks off LVMH Watch Week Dubai with the smallest women’s tourbillon watch, the Serpenti Seduttori Tourbillon.

If 2020 is the year watch brands really ramp up their efforts in the ladies’ watch category, then we’re off to a banging good start with Bulgari taking the lead. The highlight of the show is undisputedly the new Serpenti Seduttori Tourbillon, a unique small-sized women’s tourbillon that was designed specially to fit within the sleek dimensions of the serpent-head case of the Serpenti watch.

In this time and age, we can hardly say that jewelry watches cannot also contain a serious bit of watchmaking anymore. Quite the reverse, Bulgari is simply reviving a tradition that was lost in the ’70s when all the small mechanical movements in ladies’ watches were replaced by quartz movements.

The ultimate breakthrough, however, is this: the new movement in the Serpent Seduttori Tourbillon, the BVL150 Calibre, is the smallest tourbillon on the market, made possible by combining Bulgari’s expertise in jewelry-making and its savoir-faire in watchmaking. Viewable from the transparent sapphire case back, the movement is rhodium-plated and hand-decorated with Côtes de Genève, perlage and bevelling. The movement also features a sapphire bridge.

The new Serpenti Seduttori Tourbillon comes in rose gold or white gold with diamond pavé and a leather strap or white gold with diamond pave and a full diamond bracelet.

First presented last year, the Serpenti Seduttori was given a new look that is less literal in its inspiration and more contemporary. The sinuous form of the snake is evoked through a new bracelet design, hexagonal chainlinks that interlock to evoke the smooth and supple scales of the serpent.

Apart from the tourbillon version, five new additions join the Serpenti Seduttori family this year, including a precious version as well as one with alternating rose and white gold and steel.