Erosion of Time: The Daniel Arsham x Hublot Arsham Droplet is Amazing!

For those who may be unaware, Daniel Arsham’s artwork is centered around the notion of fictional archaeology. Using multiple platforms, including sculpture, architecture, drawing, and performance, he builds ambiguous environments that he calls “future relics of the present.”
 

The story sold around high-end timepieces – that they are objects meant to be passed down through the generations and current owners merely stewards – lends itself well to Arsham’s artist statement. Thus, in collaboration with Hublot, the artist has created a spectacular work of speculative non-fiction by reimagining the traditional pocket watch, blending antique form with futuristic materials and production methods.
 

Dubbed the Arsham Droplet, this timepiece can be enjoyed in three ways: as a pocket watch, a pendant, or a table clock. So, for this story, we will save the specs for later and examine the Droplet first as an artwork.

Arsham’s best-known works are sculptures that look like excavations. First, Arsham takes casts of objects that typify recent culture (like cereal boxes, clothing, cassette tapes, magazines, etc.) and contemporary characters (like Pikachu, Mickey Mouse, Mario, etc.).

He then uses these molds to re-form the objects from a variety of materials, but a favorite is a compound of sand, selenite, or volcanic ash. Through this process, Arsham removes the object from the everyday, thus cleverly recontextualizing our current culture.
 

Like Andy Warhol, Arsham’s work is also a comment on consumerism. However, Arsham’s love for the objects that he turns into stone is why pieces like his “Eroded 911 Turbo (Porsche)” are not three-dimensional derivations of, say, Warhol’s soup cans and Brillo boxes, which evince a cool pop art detachment. At heart, Arsham is a romantic.
 

The precariousness of time is another frequent subject in Arsham’s work. And there is good reason for that. For you see, Arsham may have been born in Cleveland, but he was raised in Miami, which means Arsham was only 12 years old when Hurricane Andrew destroyed his family home in 1992.

The Arsham Droplet represents an aesthetic departure from his bruised and battered surfaces and instead focuses on organic, fluid forms found in nature. But like a raindrop in a hurricane, the shape of this pocket watch is powerful and unpredictable.
 

Measuring 73.2mm (length) x 52.6mm (width) x 22.5mm (thickness), the sandwich construction and tactile design fit perfectly in the hand, like a pebble with a surface that has been smoothed by the river’s currents.
 

The titanium case boasts a double sealing system with no less than 17 O-rings to ensure a perfect seal. The timepiece also makes use of Hublot’s iconic design codes, including the brand’s signature six H-shaped screws.

Beating inside this watch is Hublot’s Meca-10 manufacture movement, which boasts a 10-day power reserve that ensures the Droplet can be enjoyed without the need for frequent winding (it wouldn’t fit on any watch winder anyway), further cementing the wearer’s connection to time.
 

The organic nature of the Droplet is further complemented by two chains made from micro-blasted titanium that make it possible to wear the Droplet as either a pendant or a pocket watch. This chain is also easily removed, transforming the Droplet into an objet d’art you can display via the titanium and mineral glass table stand included with every timepiece.
 

Limited to only 99 examples, the price of the Arsham Droplet is $88,000. For more information, please visit Hublot’s website or danielarsham.com.

(Images © Hubot)