Baselworld 2019: Hublot Gets a New Tattoo and Launches a Tourbillon Too! (Hands-On)

Hublot has a long-standing reputation of reinventing itself, pushing the boundaries with innovative materials, designs, creativity, and collaborations. The brand is very much alive and active in the art and sports worlds. At Baselworld 2019, art partnerships took center stage alongside a brand-new in-house tourbillon.

At this year's Baselworld, Hublot expanded upon its eye-catching collaborations with truly modern, forward-thinking artists. Maxime Plescia-Buchi is both a renowned Swiss tattoo artist and a graphic designer. The Big Bang Sang Bleu II is named for Pleschia-Buchi's magazine called Sang Bleu, which translates to "blue blood" in English. With Hublot, he’s developed geometric designs for both the case and the hands, which are skeletonized allowing full view of the new watch's chronograph movement.

Bold indeed! in addition to the case shape seen in the original Big Bang Sang Bleu, the Big Bang Bleu is arguably easier to read than the original, despite the addition of a chronograph. Prices: $25,200 for the titanium, in a limited edition of 200 pieces, and $47,300 for the King Gold version, limited to 100 pieces.

There’s a new smaller case size for the Classic Fusion Orlinski. At 40mm, the just-introduced timepiece is a bit more understated than its previous iterations. The newness goes beyond just the size, of course: the watch has a faceted dial that reflects the light at each turn of the wrist and is clearly evocative of Richard Olinski dramatic and bold sculptural style. The pop artist, whose imposing larger-than-life animal sculptures include bears, pandas, and t-rex dinosaurs, is known for his “Born Wild” theme. His inventiveness fits Hublot to a T. Or should we say an H?

Hublot “is a modern brand with a truly innovative spirit…” Orlinski said in a statement. “What brings it all together is our desire to challenge convention.”

The watch’s dodecagon (12-sided) bezel has been the design signature of Orlinski’s watches for Hublot since their collaboration began in 2017. The angles of the dodecagon precisely line up with the watch’s hour indications. It’s a subtle yet precise design element that further distinguishes the timepiece's artful form. “These elegant Classic Fusions turn wearing a watch into an everyday art form,” said Guadalupe.
 

The new Orlinski timepieces are available in limited editions of just 200 pieces for a titanium case and 100 in King Gold. There are also diamond-encrusted pieces for those so inclined - either partial set with (just) 112 diamonds, and full set with a total of 210 gems. Prices: $11,500 and 22,500 for the titanium and gold versions, respectively. For the diamond pieces, it's $18,800 for the partial-set and $22,00 for the fully-set in titanium, and $29,400 for the partial-set and $32,500 for the fully-set in gold.
 

(Photography by Liam O'Donnell)