On the trail of the snake: We catch up with Bulgari designer Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani

For 20 years, Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani has been adding his own unique touch to Bulgari, with his keen sense of elegant design. In our interview, the creative mind behind the iconic snake design provides insights into his work, his inspirations, and Bulgari’s brand DNA.

In an exclusive interview, Buonamassa Stigliani talked to us about the significance of watches in the age of technology, the emotional connection between the wearer and the watch, and the source of his inspiration.

Storytelling is an important factor when buying a watch. With your initial idea, you are writing the first chapter of a long or, in the best case, never-ending story. How much of the story do you leave to the wearers?

A very interesting question. When we have an idea, we always have two things in mind. The first is the brand, and the second is the customers who have to wear the watch. It is very important to me to show them a different aspect of the brand and tell them a different story each time. So today, we are talking about the sound of watches, on the other hand we are talking about the Serpenti, which makes a sound every time you move your wrist. It is important to acknowledge the fact that we don’t actually need a watch. We have all our electronic devices around us, so we can tell the time very accurately at any given moment. The watch is something else, it’s more about emotion. And it is very important to us that we give the customer the opportunity to wear a unique watch. The Serpenti watch falls somewhere between a piece of jewellery and a watch. A Finissimo watch impresses with its mechanical design. As such, the brand DNA is anchored in innovation.

How do you innovate in this area?

For me, the most difficult innovation is changing your own way of thinking. The way you wear a watch — not the material, the colour, or the stitching, that’s just something you talk about in fashion and that might be cool for six months, but will be replaced by something else next year. But if you find a different way to wear a watch, it becomes a long-term companion. So, the goal of a designer is to improve the quality of life through the products and objects. You wear a watch because you want to tell a story. Nowadays, there is a very strong trend towards vintage style, as many young collectors are drawn to a piece because they associate it with a particular memory. And theypurchase the models and wear them on their wrist because there is a connection there, an emotional connection to their heritage. So the watch is an object with a wealth of different meanings.

How difficult is it to stand out in this vast marketplace?

It is very difficult if you don’t have fresh ideas, or if you only have an aesthetic idea, because trends only last six months. IF there’s more to it than just the aesthetic, you tend to cut to the chase. One example is the Serpenti watch. You either like it or you don’t. The fact is that there is no other watch on the market that offers this type of wearer experience. Or Finissimo. Even if it doesn’t suit everyone’s taste, it cannot be denied that this is a model with an amazing design and outstanding technical features.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I haven’t got a clue (laughs). 99 per cent of the time, inspiration comes from an emotion. I see something that triggers my brain and I reach for my sketchbook.

What makes a watch design special?

The way in which you have to convey the entire value of the brand in a very small product.

Thank you very much for the interview!

Don’t miss a thing — we’ll keep you up to date!

Sign up for our newsletter.