Drake's Bulgari Serpenti watch, and what it actually is
What showed up on his wrist this week, and why collectors noticed.
Drake was photographed this week wearing a vintage Bulgari Serpenti bracelet watch from around 1970, a coiled gold snake with white enamel scales, diamond-set plates and ruby eyes. We put a strong example like this at about $300,000, far below the $780,000 figure being passed around.
The story broke on November 13, 2026, after the jewelry account La Ruée posted the piece and outlets in Europe ran it with that $780,000 estimate attached. In the photos the snake wraps about twice around his wrist, with the head sitting on top and the small white dial tucked just beside it.
Most celebrity watch moments are a new Rolex or an iced-out Patek. This is a woman's jewelry watch from Bulgari's Rome workshop, the kind most watch people have only seen in auction catalogs. That's why the watch world noticed.
Don't go looking for a reference number. Bulgari made these in small numbers, often to order, each with its own enamel colors, stones and movement supplier. Every one is described by materials and date instead.
We cover sightings like this one regularly in our celebrity watch news.
The short version
Drake's watch is a circa 1970 Bulgari Serpenti bracelet watch. WatchGuys values a strong example at about $300,000 as of November 2026.
- It is a coiled gold snake with white enamel scales, diamond-set plates and pear-shaped ruby eyes, with the dial set under the head.
- Bulgari made fewer than one hundred of its enamel snakes, according to the auction house Dreweatts.
- The closest public comparable, a white enamel and diamond example, sold at Phillips Hong Kong in 2018 for HK$1,875,000, about $239,000.
- The highest verified result for a Bulgari snake watch is about $1.11 million, set at Christie's London in 2014 by a black enamel example.
- The catch: chipped enamel can't be invisibly repaired, the dial is tiny, the movement is hand-wound, and only a few dozen buyers worldwide can pay this much for one.
The vintage Bulgari Serpenti, from gas pipe to snake
How Bulgari got from a flexible gold bracelet to the piece on Drake's wrist.
The Serpenti began in 1948 as a coiled bracelet watch, and by the 1960s Bulgari had turned it into a literal snake with enameled scales and the dial hidden at the head. Drake's watch comes from the late end of that run.
The first versions borrowed their shape from Tubogas, a flexible coil construction inspired by industrial gas piping. The snake was suggested more than drawn. In the mid-1950s Bulgari started sculpting heads and adding scales, and the watch became a jewel that happened to tell time.
Elizabeth Taylor wore one on the set of Cleopatra in Rome in 1962, which did more for the design than any ad campaign. The Serpenti has been the house's signature ever since, and Bulgari still makes new versions today.
How a vintage Serpenti is built
Inside every one is a white gold spring coil. Gold scales are hammered to shape and riveted over it one at a time, then enameled, engraved or set with stones. That spring is what lets the snake grip the wrist with no clasp at all.
On Drake's piece, the scales alternate glossy white enamel with hexagonal plates paved in diamonds, each outlined in gold. The head is paved too, with two pear-shaped rubies for eyes. It reads as jewelry from across a room and as a watch only up close.
Who made the movement
Bulgari didn't make its own movements in this era. It bought them from Swiss houses, most often Jaeger-LeCoultre, Vacheron Constantin and Movado, with Audemars Piguet and Omega also on record. The supplier's name usually appears on the dial and the movement, with Bulgari's on the case.
We can't tell from the photos which one is inside Drake's watch. It matters for value. A Vacheron Constantin movement pulls more bidders than a Movado, and a letter from Bulgari confirming the piece left the workshop that way is worth real money on sale day.
What Drake's Bulgari Serpenti watch is worth
Our number, the press number, and the auction results behind both.
We value Drake's Serpenti at about $300,000, assuming clean enamel, original stones and Bulgari documentation. The $780,000 figure would take a near-record result, and only one Bulgari snake watch we know of has ever sold for more.
That $780,000 traces back to a social media post, repeated by news sites without a sale to back it up. The public auction record is a better guide, and it says white enamel snakes from this period trade in the low to mid six figures.
Vintage Bulgari Serpenti, white enamel and diamonds, circa 1970
Our estimate assumes intact fired enamel, original stones, a period movement and a Bulgari certificate or letter. Auction results include buyer's premium where the house reports them that way.
The auction comparables
| Sale | Piece | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Christie's London, June 2014 | Enamel and diamond snake watch, circa 1965 | £662,500 (about $1.11 million) |
| Christie's, 2011 | Elizabeth Taylor's diamond and emerald snake watch | $974,500 on a $12,000 to $15,000 estimate |
| Phillips Hong Kong, May 2018 | Pink gold, white enamel and diamonds, circa 1970, Jaeger-LeCoultre | HK$1,875,000 (about $239,000) |
| Bonhams London, April 2017 | Enamel and diamonds, 1967 | £68,750 including premium |
| Dreweatts, June 2024 | Orange, brown and white enamel, 1960s, Jaeger-LeCoultre | £70,000 |
Results as published by each auction house or reported in the trade press, verified November 2026. Dollar figures are approximate. The highlighted row is the closest match to Drake's watch.
The spread runs from under $100,000 to over $1 million. Diamonds versus plain enamel, the condition of that enamel, famous provenance and a Bulgari letter decide where a piece lands. Drake's has diamonds and looks clean in the photos, which is why we sit near $300,000 and not $90,000.
What $300,000 actually means
A headline auction price isn't what the seller banks or what the buyer pays. Here's the math on a $240,000 hammer, which becomes roughly $300,000 once the house adds its premium.
| Line item | Buyer in Los Angeles | Seller |
|---|---|---|
| Hammer price | $240,000 | $240,000 |
| Buyer's premium, about 26 percent | Plus $62,400 | None |
| Sales tax, 9.75 percent | Plus $29,484 | None |
| Seller's commission, about 10 percent | None | Minus $24,000 |
| Total | $331,884 | $216,000 |
Premium and commission rates are illustrative. Each house publishes its own buyer's premium schedule, and seller terms are negotiated, especially at this level. Sales tax shown at the City of Los Angeles rate, applied to hammer plus premium.
That's a $115,884 gap between what the buyer pays and what the seller receives, on one watch. So "worth $300,000" means something different depending on which side of the counter you stand. We track resale numbers the same way in our Rolex watch market report.
Own a vintage jewelry watch?
Send photos and any paperwork, and we'll tell you what it's worth and whether we or an auction house is the better place to sell it.
What we check on a vintage Bulgari Serpenti
The details that decide whether one is a $300,000 jewel or an expensive problem.
Enamel comes first. Chipped fired enamel that has been patched is the fastest way to lose value on a Serpenti, and patches are easy to miss in photos.
Original vitreous enamel is glass fused to the gold, with a hard, glossy surface. Cold enamel repairs are resin. Under a loupe they look a touch duller and softer, and the edge against the gold outline isn't quite as crisp. We look at every scale, because damage shows up where the coil flexes and where the snake knocks against a desk.
The rest of the list
- Coil tension. The spring should hold the snake snug on its own. A tired coil sags and slides, and fixing it means taking the snake apart.
- Rivets and scales. Every scale should sit flush and move freely. A lifted scale catches sweaters and points to past repair.
- Stones. Diamonds should match in color across the plates, and the ruby eyes shouldn't be chipped at the point. Replacement stones are common.
- Signatures. Bulgari on the case, the movement maker on dial and movement, and an Italian maker's mark on the gold. Anything missing needs an explanation.
- Paperwork. A Bulgari certificate of authenticity or a letter from the house's heritage team. Without one, bidders discount hard.
- Movement service. The case is small and the dial sits under a hinged head, so this goes to a watchmaker who has opened one before.
Look-alikes and fakes
The design has been copied for decades. Other Italian jewelers made snake watches in the same era, and modern reproductions turn up online with Bulgari stamped on them. A real one is heavy, beautifully articulated and documented. If the seller can't produce the paperwork, assume nothing.
Should you buy a vintage Bulgari Serpenti watch?
Our recommendation, and who should ignore it.
Buy one only if you want a piece of jewelry first and a watch second, and only from a major auction or a dealer who will put its history in writing. Everyone else should look at a modern Serpenti or a different vintage icon.
The vintage Serpenti is one of very few jewelry watches with a deep, public auction record and a design that has stayed in fashion for more than seventy years. Drake wearing one will pull new buyers into a small market. That usually firms up prices for the best examples and does little for tired ones.
Who should look elsewhere
If you want a watch you'll actually read, pass. The dial is tiny and partly hidden by the head, and the movement is hand-wound and more than fifty years old. It isn't water resistant and it doesn't like knocks.
If you might need to sell quickly, pass. The buyer pool for a $300,000 enamel snake is a few dozen people worldwide, most of them bidding through the big houses' jewelry sales. Waiting months for the right sale is normal.
If you're buying for the celebrity bump, pass. Spotting stories move social media more than auction rooms, and this market was strong long before this week.
The modern alternatives
Bulgari still makes the Serpenti. The Seduttori and Tubogas lines are in production, and Bulgari's US site lists Seduttori models from about $6,000 as of November 2026. They run on quartz or automatic movements, any Bulgari boutique can service them, and they're easy to live with.
High jewelry versions are another matter. A new Serpenti Misteriosi ref. 103164 in gold, diamonds, malachite and rubellite sold at Christie's in November 2024 for $189,000, against an original retail Christie's put at about $500,000. New high jewelry loses money fast, which is the best argument for buying vintage instead.
If you already own one
Get it documented before anything else. A Bulgari letter adds more value than any polish. Then compare an outright offer against a realistic auction net after commission, insurance and months of waiting.
For most watches we buy, an offer from us beats auction on speed and on the money you actually keep. For a top vintage Serpenti, a major jewelry sale can win, and we'll tell you when that's the case. We'd rather earn the next deal than force this one.
Drake Bulgari Serpenti watch FAQ
What Bulgari watch was Drake wearing?
Drake was photographed in November 2026 wearing a vintage Bulgari Serpenti bracelet watch from around 1970. It is a coiled gold snake with white enamel scales, diamond-set plates, pear-shaped ruby eyes and a small dial set under the head.
How much is Drake's Bulgari Serpenti watch worth?
WatchGuys values a circa 1970 Bulgari Serpenti in white enamel, diamonds and rubies at about $300,000 as of November 2026, assuming intact enamel and Bulgari documentation. Some outlets reported $780,000, but public auction results for comparable pieces are far lower. A similar white enamel and diamond example sold at Phillips Hong Kong in 2018 for HK$1,875,000, about $239,000.
Is the Bulgari Serpenti a men's watch?
No. Vintage Bulgari Serpenti bracelet watches were made as women's jewelry watches, with small dials and coils sized for a slim wrist. The spring coil flexes enough that some men wear them, as Drake did in November 2026.
What is the most expensive Bulgari Serpenti watch ever sold?
The highest public result WatchGuys can verify for a Bulgari snake watch is £662,500, about $1.11 million, for a black enamel and diamond example from around 1965 sold at Christie's London in June 2014. Elizabeth Taylor's diamond and emerald Bulgari snake watch sold for $974,500 at Christie's in 2011.
Who made the movements in vintage Bulgari Serpenti watches?
Bulgari bought movements for its vintage Serpenti watches from Swiss makers, most often Jaeger-LeCoultre, Vacheron Constantin and Movado, with Audemars Piguet and Omega also documented. The movement maker's name usually appears on the dial and movement, and Bulgari's name appears on the case.
How can you tell if a vintage Bulgari Serpenti is real?
A genuine vintage Bulgari Serpenti is signed Bulgari on the case, has a Swiss movement signed by its maker, carries an Italian gold maker's mark, and is heavy with smoothly articulated scales over a spring coil. The strongest proof is a certificate or letter from Bulgari confirming the piece. Without paperwork, have a specialist inspect it before paying.
Why is Bulgari spelled Bvlgari?
Bvlgari is the brand's trademark spelling, using a V in place of the U in the style of classical Latin inscriptions. Bulgari and Bvlgari are the same Roman jewelry house, founded by Sotirios Voulgaris in 1884.
Can you still buy a new Bulgari Serpenti watch?
Yes. Bulgari still makes Serpenti watches, including the Serpenti Seduttori and Serpenti Tubogas lines, with Seduttori models listed from about $6,000 on Bulgari's US site as of November 2026. Gem-set high jewelry Serpenti watches cost far more and have lost heavily at resale.
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