The coils move. Not loosely, not rattlingly—with a fluid precision that feels almost mechanical, a spring rendered precious. There is no clasp holding the spiral together, no soldered joint lending it structure. The piece sustains itself, which sounds simple until you consider the level of engineering required to achieve such flexibility in steel, of all materials.
Bvlgari has been creating Tubogas pieces since 1948, when the first watch of that name introduced the technique—named after the industrial gas pipes it resembled—into the maison’s design vocabulary. That initial experiment sparked more than a decade of exploration, and by the 1970s Tubogas had evolved into a defining house motif, appearing alongside the maison’s signature Monete coins and cabochon gemstones.
By the 1980s, Tubogas had become synonymous with Bvlgari itself. The new additions to the Tubogas collection—a necklace and bracelet, specifically—revisit that industrial language. Drawing on the bold material contrasts that once defined Bvlgari, they translate the house’s archival codes into something sharper and more contemporary. Rendered in seamless steel coils punctuated by yellow gold studs, the pieces feel both archival and strikingly modern.
The pieces are rooted in the Bvlgari aesthetic of the ’70s, updated with the stud motif that recurs across the maison’s wider jewellery universe. Those gold studs are not mere embellishment but serve as punctuation marks, giving the eye moments of pause within the continuous rhythm of the coils. In motion, the contrast becomes even more compelling: steel appears cool and architectural; gold, warm and exacting.
Each material sharpens the character of the other. Gold prices have reached record highs in recent years, alongside platinum and silver, prompting a quiet recalibration across the fine jewellery industry. Brands long dependent on precious metals are being forced to reconsider materiality itself. Some are adapting out of necessity; Bvlgari approaches the conversation from a position of long-established authority.
The maison is not using steel as a concession to rising costs—it is using steel because steel achieves something gold alone cannot. That, ultimately, is the point of the pairing—and always has been. The tension between the two materials is the design. Remove either, and the pieces lose the very friction that makes them compelling.
Over the decades, Tubogas has been many things: technical provocation, collector’s favourite, house signature. Rather than treating it as a heritage relic padded with archival nostalgia, Bvlgari presents Tubogas as a living design language—one with 50 years of credibility behind it, yet still capable of feeling radically current. What it has never become is static. That, for a design now in its eighth decade, is the rarest achievement of all.
Photography Darren Gabriel Leow
Styling Donson Chan
Producer Cheryl Lai-Lim
Photographer’s assistant Melvin Leong