King Power Arturo Fuente King Gold

703.OX.3113.HR.OPX12
Technical specifications

Functions

  • Hours
  • Minutes
  • Seconds
  • Date
  • Chronograph

Movement

  • Self Winding/Automatic
  • Manufactured
  • Swiss Made

Case

  • Round
  • Red Gold
  • Brushed
  • 48.00mm

Glass

  • Sapphire

Water resistance

  • 10.00atm / 100.00m / 330.00ft

Buckle

  • Deployment Buckle
  • Red Gold

Strap

  • Louisiana Alligator

Year

  • 2012

Official description

In tribute to the Opus X, the rarest cigar in the world, according to some connoisseurs. A cigar as unique as its history… The world of a Cuban family with a most remarkable story, involving some of the most remarkable cigars around. Let's go back to the mid-80s. Carlos Fuente was exploring an area near Santiago in the Dominican Republic, which bore a strange resemblance to the "Pinard del rio" valley, from where the legend of Cuban cigars sprang. He had the idea of growing tobacco plants there: but not just any plants, wrapper tobacco. Yes, wrapper tobacco in Santo Domingo. The whole industry took him for a madman. Be that as it may, he persisted and he succeeded. In a feat of farming, the tobacco emerging from Château de la Fuente is unique, boasting an exceptional power and wealth of aroma. 

And while the vast majority of cigars comprise 5 tobacco leaves (wrapper, binder and 3 more leaves for filler), the Opus X has 9! Why, you might ask? Carlito's answer is simple: "So that in every puff, you will discover a surprise." In fact, every module is composed like a book, with its own introduction and chapters. However the Torcedores (the cigar makers) did not go along with this, and refused to make such cigars. Carlito had no hesitation; to make his dream come true, he created a school of Torcedores where he spent 10 months teaching his new recruits his vision of cigars. 

In another successful feat, in 1992 the first Opus X emerged from Tabacalera Fuente, making it the first Dominican Puro (cigar deriving all its leaves from the same source). As the ultimate perfectionists, the Fuente family choose to "mature" them for at least 2 years before exporting, for the aromas of the various tobaccos to make a harmonious blend. What more is there to say, except that the whole world is latching onto the Opus X? 

But this cigar is not just innovative for its design and tobacco. Its factory is completely unique, similar in many points to the Hublot watchmaking manufacture: 300 employees work there, as at Hublot, organised in workshops. The Opus X has a whole dedicated room, just like the complications at Hublot, where the Master Torcedores have their own domain, like the Master Watchmakers: they are both hotbeds of expert hands, know-how and exclusively reserved components. The similarities in organisation are striking… The Hublot and Arturo Fuente boutiques are even neighbours in Las Vegas. 

But that is not all. Carlos Fuente Sr and Carlito Fuente have a deep love for their adopted home, the Dominican Republic. This country has many abandoned or orphaned children. Carlito is very aware of this scourge, to combat which he set up a School and Foundation in the heart of the tobacco plantations, with all the facilities necessary to house the children until they reach maturity. Giving and sharing - once more an outlook similar to that of Hublot, which never fails to tie in its events and operations with its ambassadors for the benefit of foundations and charity actions worldwide. 

Baselworld 2013: Hublot, the smokescreen

In order to promote the "King Power Arturo Fuente" in gold and black ceramic, a limited series launched a year ago, Carlos Fuente Jr, president of the famous...
By Joel GrandjeanEditor-in-Chief