Bulgari’s flagship launch at the recent LVMH Watch Week was the mechanical version of its signature watch, the Serpenti Automatic. Available as a Seduttori with a conventional bracelet and a Tubogas multi-loop bracelet version, the Serpenti Automatic is stays faithful to the model in terms of design.

But the new Serpenti is notable for what’s inside: the newly developed Lady Solotempo BVS100 movement, which reveals LVMH’s plans for its watch division, which is now led by Frédéric Arnault. Conceived as a compact workhorse with a useful 50-hour power reserve, the BVS100 is an industrial calibre created by Bulgari, but it will be produced by sister brand Zenith, creating an “ecosystem” for the LVMH watch brands.

The Serpenti Tubogas Automatic with its distinctive flexible, looped bracelet

Initial thoughts

The Serpenti is iconic Bulgari, and the BVS100 is an interesting, albeit industrial and cost-efficient, movement. But the most interesting section in the announcement of the Serpenti Automatic wasn’t about the watches themselves, but the background of the calibre:

“The BVS100… developed and currently produced by Bvlgari in Le Sentier, is expected to be included in the future catalog of in-house movements available to other LVMH group Maisons and to be manufactured by Zenith… Bvlgari is proud to contribute to the manufacturing ecosystem established by LVMH in support of Watchmaking excellence and craftsmanship in Switzerland.”

The “catalog of in-house movements” available to other LVMH brands, and the corresponding “manufacturing ecosystem”, reveal the ambitions and future of the group’s watch division. And because of the scale of LVMH – its annual free cash flow is in the region of €10 billion – the ambitions will be big and mostly likely realised.

The BVS100

Though it is by far the largest luxury group in the world with annual revenue of around €80 billion (compared to about €22 billion for Richemont), LVMH had a relatively small presence in watchmaking in the past. With fewer watch brands in its stable compared to Richemont and Swatch Group, LVMH historically lacked the group-wide integration and strategy that its peers enjoyed.

Swatch, which owns Omega, Longines, and ETA, has long employed a cohesive industrial strategy with movements across all its brands where even its most premium brands share movements. Richemont has done so as well, to a lesser degree and also with much more secrecy, primarily not to damage the brand equity of its luxury marques.

With the BVS100 movement, LVMH is making it public that its industrial and movement strategy across the watch division is progressing and even accelerating, no doubt thanks to Mr Arnault taking charge. Prior to his appointment, LVMH did not have a watch division head, and instead had a chief executive of both watches and jewellery, Stephane Bianchi, who has now been promoted to number two position in LVMH as Group Managing Director.

Already there has long been speculation that LVMH is seeking to buy a movement maker of scale, but the BVS100 is a reminder that LVMH already has Zenith, a historical movement maker best known for its El Primero chronograph, in the group’s portfolio. With the current slowdown in demand for luxury watches, Zenith presumably has manufacturing capacity to spare. At the same time, Bulgari, TAG Heuer, and Hublot each have their respective manufacture and catalogue of in-house movements, though none of them is traditionally known as a movement maker.

The BVS100 was clearly conceived as a cost-efficient workhorse by virtue of its no-frills elements

And then there’s Louis Vuitton, the biggest brand in the LVMH stable, accounting for over a quarter of its revenue. Although Louis Vuitton’s watch business is a tiny, tiny sliver of its estimated €24 billion in sales, the watch division has been rejuvenated under the leadership of Jean Arnault. The Watch Director of Louis Vuitton since 2022, Mr Arnault and his team have pulled off a rapid vertical integration of Louis Vuitton’s watchmaking, which perhaps serves as a template for the wider LVMH watch business.

Louis Vuitton has expanded its manufacture La Fabrique du Temps (LFT) to encompass movements, cases, dials, and even metiers d’art, spread out over two locations in Geneva’s Meyrin suburb (culminating in the recent Tambour Convergence watch). And word on the street in Switzerland is that Louis Vuitton is still seeking to acquire suppliers in the various specialties needed to produce a watch from start to finish.

In fact, Louis Vuitton has become something of a mini-group in itself. Not only does it produce Louis Vuitton watches, the brand is also behind the revival of Daniel Roth and Gerald Genta, a pair of independent brands that had their heyday in the 1990s before becoming dormant under the ownership of Bulgari. Now brought to life again, both brands are being produced by LFT.

The Convergence was developed in-house at LFT and is equipped with a calibre hailing from a new family of movements that will underpin Louis Vuitton watches in the future

The Swatch Group has mastered the art of industrialisation, but never quite got the hang of marketing and branding, which is why a storied brand like Breguet isn’t living up to its potential (though this may change with new leadership). Over at Richemont, on the other hand, marketing and branding expertise is strong, but it hasn’t achieved the level of industrialisation and industrial quality of Swatch Group.

The evolution of the LVMH Watch Division will be worth keeping an eye on, and its destiny will be significant for the industry given the group’s size. It might even inspire well-funded luxury rivals like Chanel and Hermes to turbocharge their watchmaking endeavours.

And the reaction of the traditionally insular Swiss industry will be interesting as well. While Richemont is controlled by a South African, it is Swiss and headquartered in Geneva. Swatch, on the other hand, is old-school Swiss-German industrial conglomerate, even though its founding family originated in Lebanon. Other industry giants like Rolex and Patek Philippe are Swiss through and through. LVMH, on the other hand, is very much French. A foreign entity having a major presence in Swiss watchmaking is a still-novel concept.