Sometimes when a watch brand announces their latest and greatest there is a sense that the brand is a bit lost. Maybe they are chasing a trend or a market share, trying to claw attention away from another manufacture and its top performers. Other times, the releases can feel a bit, aimless, as though the brand is feeling around in the creative dark, unsure of who it is or who it wants to be.

With regards to the latest releases from Hublot for Watches & Wonders 2023 – neither of those scenarios is the case. Not even a little. Hublot knows exactly who they are and exactly who their watches are intended for.

Doubling Down with Double Tourbillons

In a release that can be seen as a continuation of what was seen in 2022, Hublot is doubling down on virtually all fronts when it comes to their current offerings. In that spirit going further than ever before, the Nyon-based brand has released the MP-13, featuring an all new movement with a double axis tourbillon with dual retrograde and four-day power reserve. It is an impressive feat by any measure.

While that on its own would suffice for most brands in terms of a showstopper, Hublot has gone full steam ahead with the release of a second timepiece featuring a tourbillon — the Big Bang Integrated Tourbillion Full Texalium Carbon. This full carbon fiber and Texalium timepiece features an integrated bracelet made of the same composite. The skeleton dial and openwork backplate proudly showcases the dial side micro-rotor at 12 o’clock and the tourbillon at 6 o’clock. Both timepieces will be limited to just 50 examples each.

Square Bang Evolves

For 2022, Hublot released a new case category called the Square Bang, a big bold 43mm square chronograph in five different case material combinations. Despite being a distinct shape, it still maintained that clear Hublot identity that the rest of their pieces embody. This year, an additional seven new references join the family.

Perhaps the most notable ones are the Square Bang Unico Sapphire and a black and white Unico Ceramic. No less striking and impactful with its slightly smaller 41mm case size, the Unico Sapphire is another addition to Hublot’s offerings of all-sapphire cased timepieces. Not to be outshone, the remaining four are presented in a combination of titanium with diamonds or rose gold with diamonds.

Classic Fusion Chronograph Orlinski Titanium

In 2017, Hublot released a collaboration watch that was both a natural addition to their offerings, carrying clear design inspiration from that which came before it, and a complete departure in terms of visual taxonomy. Since then, there have been three additions to the Classic Fusion Chronograph Orlinski watches. This year, a fifth joins the ranks — the Classic Fusion Chronograph Orlinski Titanium. Offered in both rubber strap version and full titanium complete with an integrated bracelet, the Orlinski Titanium continues with the distinct faceting and geometric capriciousness that typify Richard Orlinski’s distinct sculptural work.

Hublot x Takashi Murakami Unique 13

While some brands have dipped their toe into the shallow end of the NFT pool, only to retreat back to safety of dry, mechanical land, Hublot continues to embrace the medium. Whether or not this appeals to you of course depends entirely upon your level of interest in the NFT space. In any case, as far as Hublot is concerned, there is more to be said and explored in the intersection of the digital and corporeal when it comes to luxury and exclusivity.

To that end, Hublot continues its collaboration with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami with the release of 13 unique Classic Fusion pieces. Twelve will be released with corresponding NFTs which can be traded over the next year. At the conclusion of one year, if any single collector holds all 12, they will have the opportunity to purchase the 13th piece, a unique Black Ceramic Rainbow edition. Should no one individual accumulate all, the watch will be auctioned for charity.

Big Bang Time Only

In any other list of watches, you’d be unlikely to see a transparent dial Big Bang described as “the understated offering” in the lineup. But amidst the cacophonous release that is Hublot’s ’23 lineup, the Big Bang Time Only Black Magic and Time Only Diamonds both offer what can be considered the most traditional Big Bag aesthetic. These pieces only serve to further emphasize that Hublot firmly rooted in their knowledge of not only where they are headed, but where they have been and, most importantly, who they are.