The Tubogas is a flexible metal pipe patented in 1881. In the 1940s, it was discovered by jewelers, who gave it a glittering future.
Depending on the times, uses and users, Tubogas changed names almost as often as a snake changes its skin: "skeleton key", "spirotube", "gas pipe", "Serpenti". But it was the Second World War that sealed its destiny. The Tubogas was originally a corrugated tube made of articulated bands used to transport pressurized gas. Today, the Tubogas watch is creating a buzz in auction rooms, powered by the aura of Roman jeweler Bulgari and the spotlight on its iconic Serpenti watch, a Tubogas/snake hybrid. The latest one fetched €12,300 at the Hôtel Drouot—€2,000 above its high estimate.
The 1937 Universal Exhibition brought together the arts, technology, modern life and the latest advances in jewelry and fine watchmaking. Jewelry was sucked into the wake of racing cars: their spring-mounted stainless steel exhaust pipes were an avatar of the modular Tubogas, which inspired Parisian jewelers Fouquet, Mauboussin, Boucheron and especially Van Cleef & Arpels . Its added value was multiple: Art Deco had had its day, platinum had been requisitioned…
com.dsi.gazette.Article : 21943
This article is for subscribers only
You still have 85% left to read.
Print the article
