The jewelry house’s Serpenti design was first popularized by another raven-haired star back in the 1960s: Elizabeth Taylor, who wore an opulent watch version of the piece on the set of Cleopatra in Rome. (The Italian house had become so embroiled in Taylor’s mid-production love affair with co-star Richard Burton that the couple once hid from paparazzi inside its Via Condotti VIP Money Room.)
The popularity of snake motif jewelry can be traced back some 5,000 years to ancient Egypt, and it was also in favor during the Victorian period. In 1839, Prince Albert gave Queen Victoria an 18-karat gold serpent motif ring that he had designed himself.
But just as the panther is synonymous with Cartier, and the camellia with Chanel, the serpent is inextricably linked with Bulgari. The snake first writhed its way into the jeweler’s history back in 1948 as a coiled gold Tubogas watch, and has since assumed various bejeweled iterations, and become beloved by a roster of A-list stars. Diana Vreeland wore a 30-inch Serpenti design around her waist, while Zendaya, Susan Sarandon, and Bella Hadid have all worn versions on the red carpet.
Lipa, who was announced as a global ambassador for Bulgari back in February, has been wearing a series of sparkling Serpenti necklaces in recent months. She paired a whopping Serpenti necklace with a shimmering Jean Paul Gaultier dress in Cannes last month, and a different one with a shredded electric-blue Gucci frock at an Elton John Aids Foundation event in March.
