The two newest novelties from Hublot are highly limited timepieces created in collaboration with two renowned artists – Japanese contemporary maestro Takashi Murakami and Iraqi Arabic Calligrapher Wissam Shawkat.
Classic Fusion Black Magic Dubai Watch Week
As part of the 6th biannual Dubai Watch Week exhibition, Hublot and its regional partner Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons released two special edition Classic Fusion Black Magic Dubai Watch Week timepieces. Both were designed in collaboration with award-winning calligraphy artist Wissam Shawkat, whose artwork transcends boundaries and resonates with diverse audiences.
“We are excited to be a part of Dubai Watch Week, together with our partner Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons and releasing two exceptional special-edition timepieces. Following Hublot’s love for the world of art, we are pleased to reveal a special collaboration to resonate Hublot’s interpretation of Arabic heritage & culture – adding a great touch to the Art of Fusion,” said Ricardo Guadalupe, Hublot’s CEO.
Wissam Shawkat is an Award-Winning Calligraphy artist and designer specialising in letterforms. Born in 1974 in Basra, Iraq, he was first introduced to Arabic calligraphy at the age of 10. The form of four letters from the Arabic alphabet written across a school blackboard started him on a journey that has shaped him both in his early years and adulthood.
Spurred on by supportive parents, he became his own tutor. His teen summers were spent lettering for a local sign shop before he began studying for a degree in Civil Engineering at Basra University, graduating in 1996. Life as a Civil Engineer, however, was not Shawkat’s destiny.
In recent years, Shawkat has become known for a new calligraphic style, Al Wissam, which references several traditional scripts bringing them together with modern design. Based in Dubai, Shawkat engaged full-time as an artist, designer and Arabic typographer.
He has received numerous prizes for his calligraphy and has participated as both an artist and committee member at multiple editions of local and International Calligraphy Exhibitions. His work is regularly featured in books on Arabic calligraphy and typography, as well as in private collections and museums around the world.
The two timepieces designed by Shawkat, drawing inspiration from various phrases and words from the Arabic language, feature exquisite calligraphy inside their dials. The calligraphy introduces vibrant and contrasting colours that beautifully complement the sleek black cases and dials. The calligraphy reads “Al Zaman” and “Al Waqt” – both words meaning time in Arabic. The rich, bright colours set against the black background create an eye-catching and distinctive aesthetic.
The Classic Fusion Black Magic Dubai Watch Week sits in a 42-mm black ceramic case with a matching black ceramic bezel. The Arabic calligraphy on the dial is highlighted in rich bright orange, blue, green, and red. The watch is powered by the HUB1110 self-winding movement which has 42-hour of power reserve. The alligator strap with a black steel deployant buckle complements the black ceramic.
For those seeking a touch of opulence, the Classic Fusion Black Magic Diamonds Dubai Watch Week 38-mm elevates the experience with the addition of 36 black, brilliant-cut diamonds set on the polished black anodized aluminium bezel. Wissam Shawkat’s calligraphy in this timepiece has sparkling diamonds accentuating every curve and stroke.
At the launch event, Wissam Shawkat commented: “It is an honour to be collaborating with Hublot and to get the opportunity to showcase my take on Arabian heritage infused into luxury watchmaking. Inspired by my deeply rooted appreciation for our language and culture, it is a joyous experience to draw inspiration from various words & phrases and to design two exquisite timepieces.”
MP-15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Sapphire
Another recently unveiled Hublot novelty is the MP-15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon Sapphire, limited to just 50 pieces. Derived from the MP-15 Takashi Murakami Only Watch Sapphire, the first Hublot with a central flying tourbillon, this MP-15 becomes the first limited edition Hublot watch with a central flying tourbillon. It is a quirky, playful, yet high-tech model offering a magnificent interpretation of the visual effects of sapphire.
“Up until now, my work has focused on colour. It was a really exciting challenge to start a whole new chapter focussing on absolute transparency,” says Takashi Murakami. “The forms and volumes are perceived completely differently. With Hublot, we were able to preserve the individuality of my floral motif, but with a unique and different identity which was purer and perfectly in tune with Hublot’s mechanical universe. I’m very proud of the result!”
The MP-15 Takashi Murakami does not have a dial in the classical sense. Instead, Hublot has fused the case, movement and dial in a unique arrangement. In the dial’s customary location sits the complication, with the hands occupying a peripheral position. At the centre, is Hublot’s first series-produced central flying tourbillon.
The mechanics of the watch are surrounded by Takashi Murakami’s iconic motif, a flower composed of 12 petals made entirely of sapphire. The flower features soft curves and bold, generous volumes. Hublot’s aim was to create absolute transparency in order to maximise the luminosity of the MP-15. Therefore it has a sapphire case, case-back and crown, as well as a translucent flange and strap. The sun passes straight through the floral work of art, illuminating its curves and reliefs.
This central flying tourbillon features an impressive power reserve of 150 hours, almost a full week, an exceptional technical achievement for this type of complication. To enable it to be fully wound, Hublot has created a special stylus. Supplied with the piece, for which it has been specially designed, and rechargeable via a USB socket, the stylus is placed on the crown, which it winds through 100 revolutions smoothly and easily until both barrels that drive the central tourbillon are fully wound.
The position of the tourbillon embodies its function as a visual treat, visible at all times. Takashi Murakami has ably underlined the watch’s mischievous nature by incorporating two twinkling eyes and a broad smile. The hours and minutes are indicated by the tips of two hands that run around the edge, literally passing beneath the tourbillon cage.
The escapement and the hour and minute hands are therefore layered in a single central space. To accommodate them, the cannon pinion and the hour wheel had to be pivoted around the tourbillon support by creating a co-axial construction.
Hublot has also designed its tourbillon without an upper bridge. All of its components are skeletonised. This makes it easy to appreciate just how much work has gone into developing the MP-15, in which some of the gears and all of the tourbillon components – which appear to float in space – are visible.
The deeply innovative MP-15 nevertheless features the standard markers that enable it to be worn and read naturally and easily. Twelve white indices appear on the flange, while black-plated hands with white SuperLuminova offer legibility both day and night. The model is traditionally wound and set using a crown at 3 o’clock. Moreover, the modest 42 mm diameter of this piece makes it supremely easy to wear, not least thanks to its integrated rubber strap.
“Our customers do not want to choose between technology and style: they want both, with no compromise on either, says Ricardo Guadalupe. “Our mission is not to fulfil their expectations, but to surpass them. Our MP-15 is designed to do just that. It magnifies the sapphire, a material only the Hublot manufacture is able to work at this level, both in terms of complexity and geometry. A unique show of light for a major achievement: the first-ever central tourbillon produced by Hublot as an extremely limited edition. It’s a collector’s model – just like all of our MPs.”
