Tubogas: Where Engineering and Jewelry Meet
Tubogas, also known as spiratube, is an elastic metal tube patented in 1881, originally designed for the transport of pressurized gases. This manufacturing technique involves wrapping two strips of metal around a core, creating a continuous flexible band.
At the end of the 19th century, jewelers were already drawing inspiration from this technique to create new meshes. It was not until the early 1930s that Tubogas gold jewelry really took off, adorning the wrists and necks of elegant women of the time.
In 1939, Van Cleef & Arpels took advantage of the New York World's Fair to unveil its Passe-Partout jewel. Designed by Renée Puissant and René Sim-Lacaze, this piece made versatile use of Tubogas mesh, allowing it to be worn as a necklace, bracelet, clip or belt.
In the late 1940s, Bulgari fully exploited the potential of the Tubogas technique by combining it with the representation of a snake in its Serpenti watch line. The jeweler claims that the shape of the Tubogas was inspired by the decorative exhaust manifolds of old Mercedes or Auburn cars.
The Tubogas reached its peak when actress Elizabeth Taylor was immortalized wearing a Bulgari Serpenti watch while filming "Cleopatra" in 1962. The Italian brand has been exploiting the Tubogas ever since, giving the false impression that it is an exclusive invention of the house.
