BESPOKE | 16 OCTOBER 2020
Fusion Finessed
BESPOKE | 26 OCTOBER 2020
Fusion Finessed
For 40 years Switzerland’s Hublot manufacture has been about fusion watchmaking. Pushing both engineering and aesthetic boundaries, Hublot has earned a reputation as a fearless maverick of timepiece design. Combining technical innovation and tradition, its code-breaking editions straddle past and future. With its brave and bold fusion of art and architecture, beauty and disruption, practicality, robustness and sporty wearability, Hublot pioneered the combination of deep sea-grade rubber and vitrine-class gold back in 1980 and laid the foundations for what the brand’s founder, Carlo Crocco, called ‘haute horlogerie’.
To mark the 40th anniversary of its 1980 Classic Original, Hublot is releasing a 2020 mechanical edition, working a variety of materials and finishes, and modern and classic technologies into three collectors' models that embody the brand’s expertise and rule-breaking.
‘An exploratory approach to materials underpinned by technological research...and a fearless outlook’
Hublot has reinterpreted the 1980 design to reflect contemporary demands. The new Classic Fusion models capture the elegance and timeless refinement of the Classic Original, as well as four decades of innovation. The black lacquered and polished dial is understated, featuring only faceted hands and an appliqué logo. The 45mm case, made from yellow gold, titanium or black ceramic, includes the famous exposed screw heads on the bezel and a sapphire crystal case-back, and sits on an easily adjustable rubber strap with a triple deployant clasp for added comfort.
Marrying design with comfort, the 1980 Classic Original quickly captivated a discerning public seeking a unique horological product. At the time, Hublot was the first watch brand to combine precious gold with a modern rubber strap material, specially developed in its own workshops. This was the origin of the brand’s ‘art of fusion’, an exploratory approach to materials underpinned by technological research and a fearless outlook.
Hublot’s art of fusion continues under the guidance of its chairman, Jean-Claude Biver, and has been driven forward by CEO Ricardo Guadalupe since 2012. The release of the multi-award-winning Big Bang in 2005 paved the way for new flagship collections (Classic Fusion, and Spirit of Big Bang), with complications ranging from the simple to the highly sophisticated, establishing the extraordinary DNA of the Swiss watchmaker as a pioneer in materials (from scratch-resistant Magic Gold to ceramics in vibrant colours and sapphire), and manufacture movements (such as Unico, Meca-10, and Tourbillon). The Hublot philosophy? ‘Be first, different and unique.’
