Hublot Spirit Of Big Bang & Classic Fusion Chronograph Watches Collaboration With Street Artists

Hublot Spirit Of Big Bang & Classic Fusion Chronograph Watches Collaboration With Street Artists Watch Releases

Hublot Spirit Of Big Bang & Classic Fusion Chronograph Watches Collaboration With Street Artists Watch Releases

This year, Eaton’s collaboration takes the same approach of using unconventional materials by incorporating brushed bronze into the bezel. The Classic Fusion Bronze was directly inspired by the famous Charging Bull sculpture in New York’s Financial District that is also made of bronze. On the caseback, an Eaton-arranged medley of iconic New York motifs makes the watch a distinct extension of his artwork.

Swiss watchmaker Hublot are celebrating their ongoing “HUBLOT LOVES ART” campaign by partnering with street artists Hush and Tristan Eaton. The results of this collaboration are two new limited edition watches based loosely on the concepts of “Fame” and “Fortune,” as embodied by Hollywood on America’s West Coast and Wall Street in New York’s Financial District respectively. Hush was tasked with designing “Fame,” in the form of the Hublot Spirit of Big Bang West Coast Ceramic Black and White. Tristan Eaton’s collaboration piece is therefore “Fortune,” in the form of the Hublot Classic Fusion 45mm Chronograph East Coast Bronze.

Hublot Spirit Of Big Bang & Classic Fusion Chronograph Watches Collaboration With Street Artists Watch Releases

Street artist Hush is representing America’s West Coast with his timepiece, in particular Hollywood and its association with fame. Although Hush is actually based in London, he is known for his work with frescoes throughout Los Angeles, including areas of West Hollywood, Melrose, and Santa Monica. The Hublot Spirit of Big Bang West Coast Ceramic Black and White is Hush’s first collaboration piece with the brand, designed around a monochromatic portrait of a posing woman who is unnamed but for some reason reminds me strongly of Milla Jovovich’s character in Zoolander.

Hublot Spirit Of Big Bang & Classic Fusion Chronograph Watches Collaboration With Street Artists Watch Releases

The British artist Hush, a recent addition to the Hublot stable of collaborators, is best known for his geisha-inspired art that is created with a mix of mediums including collage and graffiti. He helped design the Spirit of Big Bang West Coast Ceramic Black and White, which features a skeleton dial with a white ceramic bezel. The case of the watch is black ceramic, creating a juxtaposition of color that can be found in many of Hush’s most celebrated pieces. On the caseback there is a black-and-white portrait of a woman surrounded by a multi-colored collage of mixed media.

Tristan Eaton has a creative agency called Thunderdog Studios based in New York, and many of his large-scale murals are featured in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Accordingly, Eaton is representing America’s East Cost with the Hublot Classic Fusion 45mm Chronograph East Coast Bronze, and in particular New York’s Financial District (tying into the “Fortune” theme). The bronze case is meant to symbolize the iconic Charging Bull sculpture on the bowling green of Lower Manhattan. This is Eaton’s second collaboration piece with Hublot, having previously designed the Classic Fusion Aerofusion Concrete Jungle watch for the brand in 2016.

Hublot Spirit Of Big Bang & Classic Fusion Chronograph Watches Collaboration With Street Artists Watch Releases

The Hublot Spirit of Big Bang West Coast Ceramic Black and White looks at first glance very much like something produced by Richard Mille, with the skeletonized dial and tonneau-shaped case. This is a chronograph watch, although such isn’t immediately apparent due to the discreet black pushers and a lot of detail on the dial which initially can distract the eye from the chronograph’s registers. Featured at 3 o’clock is the 30-minute counter, followed by a 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock, and running seconds at 9 o’clock, which is also signed with Hush’s name. An exposed date ring runs the periphery of the dial, framed by a perforated white border at 4:30. The central second hand features a Hublot-logo counterweight and black-plated tip with a thin strip of white luminescent material, which also features on the chronograph register hands and hour markers.

Hublot Spirit Of Big Bang & Classic Fusion Chronograph Watches Collaboration With Street Artists Watch Releases

The case of the Hublot Spirit of Big Bang West Coast Ceramic Black and White is made of micro-blasted black ceramic, which should provide the watch with good scratch resistance. Keeping the monochromatic theme is a contrasting white ceramic bezel, affixed to the case with six titanium screws with a polished black PVD coating. The case measures 42mm in diameter and is 14.10mm thick, and although Hublot haven’t specified the case length, I expect this watch will wear quite big. The case is also water-resistant to 10 ATM (approximately 100m) which combined with the tough ceramic should make this a capable sports watch. Note, however, that while ceramic is very hard, it is also brittle, which is a concern for a watch that stands 14.10mm tall and can thus be prone to knocking against things.

It’s fair to say that Hublot likes a good collaboration. Fresh from recent watch partnerships with none other than current Premier League champions Chelsea F.C. and Olympic sprinting legend Usain Bolt, Hublot has decided that there’s no time like the present and that there’s room for one more partnership: Ferrari. No two companies were ever more suited to work together than Hublot and Ferrari: both are larger than life, have been around for decades, and cater for the wealthy. The watch equivalent of a Kanye and Jay-Z team up, the Hublot/Ferrari alliance has resulted in one distinctive timepiece, that’s for sure.

Hublot Spirit Of Big Bang & Classic Fusion Chronograph Watches Collaboration With Street Artists Watch Releases

Powering the Hublot Spirit of Big Bang West Coast Ceramic Black and White is the HUB4700 movement, which is a Hublot-branded and skeletonized El Primero high-beat chronograph caliber (both Zenith and Hublot are owned by LVMH after all). This movement oscillates at 36,000 A/h or 5Hz, features 278 components and 31 jewels, and offers a rather generous 50 hour power reserve. The watch comes with two straps, a black rubber and multicolored calf leather strap for a bolder vibe, or a black rubber and plain white alligator leather strap for something a bit more restrained. Both feature white contrast stitching and a black ceramic deployant clasp. The caseback features Hush’s “Fame” artwork (hereafter known as Katinka Ingabogovinanana) that fills the caseback, along with the text “SPECIAL EDITION” and the watch serial number denoted as “XX/50.”

Hublot Spirit Of Big Bang & Classic Fusion Chronograph Watches Collaboration With Street Artists Watch Releases

I’m sure Hublot will be the first to admit that not every watch they’ve produced has been a resounding success; to say there have been some weird and wacky designs is putting it lightly. However, when something is done with love and passion, who are we to criticize? Actually, hold that thought. Would it shock you to discover that the Unico isn’t the first time that Ferrari and Hublot have worked together? Probably, as I think both companies would much rather forget that they ever made the horrendous creation that is the LaFerrari back in 2013. Please, send it back from whence it came.

Moving on to the “Fortune” timepiece, Tristan Eaton’s creation looks much more subdued by contrast. The Hublot Classic Fusion 45mm Chronograph East Coast Bronze features a brushed, all-bronze case with very similar styling to the Big Bang Bavaria released earlier this year, sans the Lederhosen strap. This is a dual-register chronograph with a 30-minute counter at 9 o’clock and running seconds at 3 o’clock, which also features Eaton’s signature as a stylized T-and-E insignia.

Hublot Spirit Of Big Bang & Classic Fusion Chronograph Watches Collaboration With Street Artists Watch Releases

A date aperture is visible at 6 o’clock in contrasting black with white font, which stands out well against the brown-and-gold color scheme of the dial. At 45mm by 13.05mm this is by no means a small watch, and combined with gold-plated hands and hour markers and the gold-toned case it should stand out as an ostentatious sign of fortune. Like the “Fame” timepiece, this is a limited edition of 50 units and has a corresponding “SPECIAL EDITION XX/50” inscription on the caseback.

Hublot Spirit Of Big Bang & Classic Fusion Chronograph Watches Collaboration With Street Artists Watch Releases

The Hublot Classic Fusion 45mm Chronograph East Coast Bronze also comes with two straps, one in black rubber and brown calf leather extensively embossed with geometric patterns, and the other in black rubber and brown alligator leather with an embossed Hublot logo but no other detailing. The case is water-resistant to 5 bar (approximately 50m), which is fine for the occasional immersion but not suitable for swimming with. The caseback is made of micro-blasted black ceramic to avoid the bronze coming into contact with the wearer’s skin, and decorated with Eaton’s artwork of the Wall Street themed bull motif. Powering this watch is the HUB1143 movement, which is a Hublot-branded ETA 2892-A2 with a Dubois-Depraz chronograph module. It features 280 components and 59 jewels, oscillates at 28,800 A/h or 4Hz, and offers a 42 hour power reserve.

Hublot Spirit Of Big Bang & Classic Fusion Chronograph Watches Collaboration With Street Artists Watch Releases

These are two very different watches by Hublot, despite the unifying theme of “Fame” and “Fortune.” The vivid use of reds and blues for the artwork on each caseback shows a common heritage of eye-catching street art from both Hush and Tristan Eaton, but there the similarities end. The Hublot Classic Fusion 45mm Chronograph East Coast Bronze is by far the more traditionally-styled of the two, offering greater legibility, a cleaner dial, and a rich gold tone which does a good job of capturing the “Fortune” design goal. For those with a keener interest in the movement, the Hublot Spirit of Big Bang West Coast Ceramic Black and White brings the excellent El Primero high-beat caliber to the table, along with a more avant-garde design approach. The Hublot Spirit of Big Bang West Coast Ceramic Black and White is being offered for a price of 25,800 CHF/$27,200 USD, while the Hublot Classic Fusion 45mm Chronograph East Coast Bronze is priced at 18,700 CHF/$19,700 USD. hublot.com