Bulgari Tubogas
Vintage 1980s Italian Wrist Watches
Blue Sapphire, Gold
1990s Wrist Watches
Steel, Stainless Steel
Vintage 1960s Retro Bracelets
18k Gold
Vintage 1970s Hoop Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Clip-on Earrings
Tourmaline, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s Swiss Wrist Watches
18k Gold, Stainless Steel
Vintage 1980s Italian Contemporary Wrist Watches
Yellow Gold, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Wrist Watches
Late 20th Century Contemporary Vanity Items
Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s Multi-Strand Necklaces
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s Swiss Wrist Watches
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Swiss Wrist Watches
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century Italian Wrist Watches
Gold, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Fashion Rings
Gold, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Bangles
Onyx, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Stainless Steel
20th Century Italian Band Rings
Onyx, Gold
1990s Contemporary Engagement Rings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Steel
Early 2000s Swiss Modern Wrist Watches
Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Band Rings
Diamond, White Gold
Vintage 1970s Italian Wrist Watches
Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Cuff Bracelets
Gold
20th Century Italian Wrist Watches
Late 20th Century Italian Modernist Choker Necklaces
Gold, 18k Gold, Steel
Late 20th Century Italian Clip-on Earrings
Citrine, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Italian Bangles
Diamond, 18k Gold
20th Century Italian Wrist Watches
Gold
Vintage 1980s Italian Wrist Watches
Steel, 18k Gold
20th Century Italian Wrist Watches
Gold, Steel
1990s Italian Choker Necklaces
White Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Wrist Watches
Yellow Gold, Steel
Late 20th Century Italian Cocktail Rings
Crystal, Diamond, Rock Crystal, Ruby, Gold, 18k Gold
20th Century Italian Wrist Watches
Gold
Vintage 1960s Italian Wrist Watches
Diamond, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s Italian Wrist Watches
18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian More Rings
White Diamond, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s Italian Wrist Watches
18k Gold
Vintage 1970s Italian Wrist Watches
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s Italian Wrist Watches
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Wrist Watches
18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Wrist Watches
18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold
20th Century Italian Modern Wrist Watches
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Wrist Watches
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Wrist Watches
Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Wrist Watches
Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s Swiss Wrist Watches
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s Italian Wrist Watches
Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s Swiss Wrist Watches
Diamond, 18k Gold
20th Century Italian Modern Wrist Watches
18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Italian Modern Wrist Watches
18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Italian Modern Wrist Watches
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Italian Band Rings
18k Gold, Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Contemporary Choker Necklaces
Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Wrist Watches
18k Gold
1990s Italian Band Rings
Gold, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s Italian Retro Bracelets
18k Gold
Vintage 1950s Retro Pendant Necklaces
Ruby, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Italian Wrist Watches
Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Wrist Watches
Diamond, Rose Gold
Late 20th Century Swiss Modern Wrist Watches
18k Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Bangles
18k Gold
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Browse a Collection of Vintage Bulgari Tubogas Watches and Jewelry
For many, BVLGARI’s Tubogas watches and other Tubogas jewelry call to mind the high-octane glamour of the 1970s and ’80s. However, the sinuous Tubogas coil was used as early as the 1940s, on the legendary house’s first Serpenti timepieces. (When Greek silversmith Sotirios Voulgaris arrived in Rome in 1881 and set up his own shop there in 1884, he called it Bulgari before changing the name to BVLGARI, which uses the classical Latin alphabet and is an homage to ancient Roman culture.)
The Tubogas engineering was directly inspired by the type of flexible metal pipe used to transport gas — called tubo del gas in Italian — patented in the 1880s and used from the 1920s on. Over the years, it has become an iconic BLVGARI style, incorporated into myriad watch and jewelry designs.
On the wrist, it creates an opulent impression that suits bare arms in high summer and in colder months works with the emerging trend for styling watches over the sleeve.
Malaika Crawford, style editor at online watch magazine Hodinkee, is an unofficial ambassador for the return of BVLGARI Tubogas watches. “I’m a jewelry-loving, watch-wearing, ’70s-nostalgia freak, and a Tubogas checks all of these boxes,” she says. “As a young woman working in the watch industry, I see the value in a timepiece that also serves as a standalone piece of design, and wearing a yellow-gold triple-wrap Serpenti makes me feel glamorous and confident.”
“We have noticed an increased interest in the BVLGARI Tubogas style in the last three to five years, and the value of the vintage versions has been rising constantly,” confirms Wagner Eleuteri, whose family’s global boutiques specialize in fine jewelry, watches and objets d’art. “I feel BVLGARI Tubogas watches are considered timeless pieces because of their everyday wearability and versatility, alongside bold design. They seem suited to any occasion, for wearers of any age.”
Crawford agrees, advising that they’re “best worn with a T-shirt and jeans.”
Find vintage BVLGARI Tubogas watches and jewelry on 1stDibs.
Bulgari for sale on 1stDibs
Greek silversmith Sotirios Voulgaris arrived in Rome in 1881 and set up his own shop there in 1884, calling it Bulgari, an Italianization of his last name (in the brand's logo, it's styled BVLGARI, using the classical Latin alphabet in a nod to ancient Roman culture). In 1905, he opened the company’s flagship boutique on Rome’s Via dei Condotti. Since then, Bulgari has looked to Rome as a source of reference for its fanciful and decidedly romantic designs for necklaces, bracelets, earrings and other accessories.
Although the iconic jewelry house found success with its silverwork and Art Deco designs, popular through the 1920s, Bulgari’s signature style — bold, often using yellow gold embellished with big colorful gemstones — began to emerge when Sotirios’s sons inherited the business, in 1932.
The brand truly hit its stride in the dolce vita era of the 1950s and ’60s, when the founder’s grandsons Paolo, Gianni and Nicola Bulgari decisively departed from demure traditional styles to develop the house’s exuberant multi-gem looks, attracting celebrity collectors like Elizabeth Taylor.
In the 1940s, Bulgari debuted perhaps its most famous design, the Serpenti bracelet watch. The piece’s snakelike coils were made possible by the tubogas jewelry technique, which links a flexible series of thin horizontal bands. Both the sleek, modern tubogas construction and the sinuous snake motif continue to be synonymous with the Bulgari brand.
On 1stDibs, the collection of vintage Bulgari jewelry includes rings, pendant necklaces, watches and other accessories.