Lvcea Tubogas Skeleton

Lvcea Tubogas Skeleton

Always in tune with women’s desires, Lvcea Tubogas Skeleton makes this sophisticated mechanical complication a playful addition to its growing family of watches. Designed for women who appreciate the delicate complexity of mechanical timepieces, it is a virtuoso display of haute horlogerie, revealing the hidden depths of the Lvcea for the very first time. Confirming Bvlgari’s commitment to feminine watches, the Lvcea Skeleton is the only skeletonized watch on the market made expressly for women.

The new Lvcea Tubogas Skeleton in pink gold and diamonds showcases the exquisitely complicated automatic winding BVL 191 skeleton movement, crafted by hand in-house in Bvlgari’s Manufacture in Switzerland. However, this being Bvlgari, the Lvcea Skeleton is not just a mechanical masterpiece that allows women to admire its beating heart. It is the first skeleton watch in history that takes the letters of the watchmaker’s logo and makes them integral to the design.

The timepieces is presented with the iconic Tubogas bracelet, reminding us of Bvlgari’s heritage as a jeweller. The slinky links of the Tubogas bracelet add a pleasing symmetry when contrasted with the perfectly round face of the Lvcea.

Christened Tubogas because of its similarity to a lowly woven-metal gas pipe, the technique has been used in jewellery making since the late 40’s. An eloquent example of industrial-inspired design, it was popularized in the Art Deco period when the challenge of miniaturizing large engineered objects, and using them for novel purposes, took off. In the 1940s, Bvlgari inserted a watch dial into a Tubogas bracelet to create a highly stylized serpent watch. The design was revived in the 1970s when Bvlgari introduced it into watches, bracelets, necklaces and rings. The effect of a stark, engineered coil combined with coins and richly colored precious gems created a fascinating contrast that marked Bvlgari’s style of jewels, intended to be worn and enjoyed every day.

Complicated to produce, the Tubogas is formed by long bands of gold or steel that are wrapped around a steel core. As they are coiled, the rounded contours of the bands interlock to conceal completely the inner structure. The specialist goldsmiths use no soldering. The flexibility of the coiled bands alone is what gives the Tubogas its characteristic bounce. Crafted with a jeweller’s sensibility, the result is a watch that is proudly Italian, unapologetically glamorous and forever stylish.