Hublot is one of those brands that has love hate relationship with its fans. Few adore them while few loathe them. It’s interesting to see the divide they have managed to create and as a business it always keeps them in the news. Honestly speaking they have made efforts to woo the customers by constantly bringing in innovations. Another way they try to focus on the youth is to bring in sporty models and collaboration with sports legends. Maybe the brand feels that it has ignored the urban clientele that wears a suit and works the 9-5 job. In order to target that segment the the company has come up with the new line of watch.
What I like about Hublot is that they never shy away from experimenting, they bring in new materials like the fabric dial of the Singapore Watch Club Limited Edition and the way they manage to blend in the element in an aesthetically pleasing manner is quite commendable. The Hublot Classic Fusion Concrete Jungle New York is a perfect example of that. Mind you it is not the first model from the company that has fused concrete in the design element. Four years ago the first time piece from Hublot that has fused concrete made its debut. But this time the watch pays tribute to the city of New York, quoting the CEO Ricardo Guadalupe who says that NYC has been a hopme away from home for the brand. The watch case is made completely of concrete and not only that even the bezel and dial are made up of concrete..!!
It was a learning curve for the manufacturers as the second iteration of the usage of concrete comes in a reinforced way, merging the new material with strong swiss watchmaking. The watch has three main ingredients the concrete comprises of 65%-70%, epoxy resin around 25%-30% while the remaining 5%-10% is made up by fiberglass. They have also added anti-UV additive that will prevent the watch from changing colours after being exposed to sunlight. Well the first thing that comes to our mind when we say that the watch is made up of concrete is the settlement of dust on the surface. The company kept that on mind and applied an anti-graffiti treatment to prevent such scenario from taking place. Needless to emphasise that a case made out of concrete will be durable.
Hublot has made a name for themselves with their bling and close association with rappers, this watch tries to break away from that image as it carters to the need of a person more closer to home. The concrete jungle has a concrete uneven dial and the name and texts are meticulously placed on that uneven surface. Even the hands, sub-dials and indices are made to that the entire design blends in seamlessly.
The watch is powered by the well established work horse the HUB1143 caliber. The caliber is a self winding automatic chronograph, the pushers and crown are black ceramic, usage of another precious element. The watch comes on an all black textile straps with the black stitching which gives a nice contrast to the concrete dial.
The watch was designed keeping few things on mind and it has managed to deliver them in the way Hublot always does. I am amazed at the way the brand manages to integrate the new design elements with the traditional watch making. The brand keeps on pushing the boundaries of watch making by bringing in innovations. I am happy that the brand is shifting focus to a broader audience and trying to expand the customer base. The watch will be a limited edition, limited to 50 pieces and priced at $18,800. The watch will be available on the Hublot US website, for more details visit brand’s website.
The Enigmatic Pen 