The very first presentation of Hublot at the Baselworld fair in 1980 didn’t earn brand founder Carlo Crocco a single potential customer. Subsequently, the brand went on to secure sales of roughly USD 2 million in its first year. It’s a case in point: Typical watch brands fear even the slightest controversy, but Hublot is no typical watch brand, embracing and flourishing in its ability to disrupt the established order.

By tirelessly pursuing true novelty in terms of product, presentation and partnerships, the brand has positioned itself as a leader in the most creative corner of our industry. It’s never paid much mind to the critique. That unwavering commitment to pushing boundaries has seen the manufacture increasingly focus its efforts on what it puts inside its watches as much as the often audacious styles and alternative materials in which it wraps its movements. This step into mastering the mechanical as well as materials side of watchmaking has been welcomed by die- hard “horophiles” around the globe. Hublot has always been interesting to aficionados of traditional watchmaking for the “Formula 1-like” influence it has on the industry. But now, with the continued development of several in-house calibers, there is more reason than ever for watchmaking’s puritans to take a walk on the wild side.

MP-10 Tourbillon Weight Energy System

Hublot knows how to stop us in our tracks. Oftentimes, throughout the brand’s history, onlookers have remained engaged thanks to a mixture of awe and incredulity. Sometimes, in our cynical world, it’s easy to dismiss echoic soundbites about “innovation” and “disruption” as marketing mumbo-jumbo due in part to a bombastic delivery, rather than stopping to wonder if, beyond the bravado and ceremony, they actually ring true.

It is an example, I believe, of a complex problem made simple — the brand one could assume to be better at talking the talk than walking the walk is actually strutting confidently with catwalk precision. The brand makes it look easy because it’s done the hard work before game day rolled around. It turns out: Hublot really is that good.

And that’s why movements like the MP-10 Tourbillon Weight Energy System are accepted so readily with even less fanfare than the achievement deserves. We’ve come to expect this kind of eccentric excellence from Hublot. But isn’t that unfair? Shouldn’t we stop and marvel at the incredible difference in Hublot’s output in an industry that often uses very technical excuses to justify its sameness?

Watches without traditional hands are rare. Whenever the movement itself takes an active role in the communication of the time, rather than relying on a fancy handset that waltzes in at the last minute and takes all the glory for the grunt work going on behind the scenes, it’s worth taking note. Watches that do this and do this well have often gone on to be seen as icons within the experimental space. The MP-10 Tourbillon Weight Energy System should, in my opinion, be considered for that god- tier of watchmaking straight out of the gate.

It relies on a linear power generator that runs on tracks and converts that energy into circular motion. The concept is rare, and no brand has executed it quite as strikingly as Hublot has.

Studying the MP-10 movement (the HUB9013) uncased and from the side, it looks more like an engine that has been plucked from craft capable of breaking the land speed record. The sprung buffers, the angled tourbillon and small seconds display recalling a vent, and the brutalist bars that run almost the entire length of the caliber — it is science fiction made real, a watch nerd’s fever dream. This is a movement that doesn’t just travel with you through time; it actually looks like you could time travel in it!

Arsham Droplet with Meca-10 Movement

The Meca-10 movement was first released in 2016 and has since featured in several of Hublot’s famous Big Bang models. With a 10-day power reserve, it is certainly a horological feat. Working in Hublot’s favor in this regard are its generally larger-than-average case sizes allowing for larger movements with more robust power sources, as well as a proud, easily graspable and comfortable-to-wind crown.

Winding pieces powered by this movement has always been a satisfying experience. But what might be even more satisfying still is the recently released collaboration with artist Daniel Arsham that presents the Meca-10 in a way it’s never been seen before.

Rather than a wristwatch, Hublot and Arsham came together to release the Arsham Droplet, which can be worn as either a pendant or a pocket watch, or used as a table clock, thanks to the inclusion of a rather nifty magnifying stand that continues the aesthetic themes of the droplet itself.

Nobody saw this collaboration coming, but perhaps equally surprising is its production volume. One might imagine a piece of this nature being limited to an extremely small number, possibly even conceived as a pièce unique, but here, Hublot has chosen to make 99 examples of this stunning, biomorphic-inspired time-telling object (priced at USD 88,000).

This watch has the character of an artefact — an object of significance. It feels like more than a timing device and more like a culturally important talisman. Arsham is, as Revolution’s Felix Scholz wrote, “best known for his series of ‘future relics’ — artfully aged representations of everyday objects, seen through the lens of some sort of dystopian archeological dig site. Having said that, the Hublot Arsham Droplet offers us a more streamlined vision of Arsham’s future — a 21st-century reimagining of the pocket watch.”

It offers this impressively presented concept further depth that beating away within its translucent shell is the HUB1201 Manufacture Meca-10 with its massive, personality-defining power reserve indicator realized on the righthand side of the display, using the ghostly green that accents other key elements to great effect.

The HUB1201 Manufacture Meca-10 caliber is a testament to old principles executed in a modern fashion. Toting a hulking 240-hour power reserve, one might expect the caliber to be similarly massive. In fact, it measures just 35.2mm across by 6.8mm tall. As with everything in watchmaking, achieving a wearable size is the result of compromise, and so to reach a dimensional goal, a technical alteration to the train count (vibrations per hour) was made. Its cutting-edge aesthetics belie its lower operating frequency (21,600vph) chosen to reduce the wear, but more specifically drain, on the movement. Although 28,800vph (4Hz, or eight “ticks” per second), is the most common operating frequency these days, employing a 3Hz train count reduces the load on the movement by precisely 25 percent, a meaningful reduction when intending to eke up a caliber’s power reserve.

Balance. Pure and simple. From top to bottom. The Hublot HUB1201 Manufacture Meca-10 movement is an exercise in balance within itself and its pairing with Daniel Arsham’s arresting vision provides it with the platform to really shine. Old and new. Then and what will be. The past and the future existing at once in perfect harmony. It’s what watchmaking should be about. And I’m glad we’re all here to see it.

Big Bang MP-11 Power Reserve 14 Days Water Blue Sapphire

Of all Hublot’s impressive in-house movements, however, there is one that is perhaps more “Hublot” than any other. While one could be forgiven for thinking immediately of the MP-10’s incredible linear winding mechanism, Hublot’s MP-11 caliber, which boasts a ridiculous two-week power reserve derived from an even more ridiculous seven barrels, arranged vertically in sequence, and influencing the entire aesthetic of the watch by their head-turning presence.

When architect Louis H. Sullivan first uttered the famous words, “Form follows function,” to describe how a building’s exterior should reflect its interior’s purpose, he couldn’t possibly have imagined a watchmaker taking his quip to such extremes. But, by doing so, Hublot has once again proven its savvy in the field of design to be on par with its technical capability.

While the MP-11 shouldn’t work, it quite simply does because the eye-catching bulge around its midriff has a practical justification. Furthermore, inordinately high power reserves are not just attractive from a pragmatic perspective; they give a watch personality, too! As Sullivan also remarked, “a rationally designed structure may not necessarily be beautiful but no [object] can be beautiful that does not have a rationally designed structure.” And the MP- 11 surely has that in spades.

As with all the best watches, it isn’t just about the what; it’s about the why as well. And the Big Bang MP-11 Power Reserve 14 Days Water Blue Sapphire is yet another example from Hublot of function-justified form — with flourish.

Learn more on Hublot’s website