Hublot Classic Fusion Tributo | INTRODUCING

Time+Tide

• The new Hublot Classic Fusion Tributo takes inspiration from Carlo Crocco’s original MDM designs that launched the brand.
• Key upgrade number 1: A slender 38mm x 9.5mm case that is 100 metres water-resistant rather than 50 metres.
• Key upgrade number 2: In place of a Sellita-based movement, they are driven by a Zenith Elite-based calibre.

Hublot may be best known for the Big Bang, but the brand’s story began with a much quieter watch. In 1980, Carlo Crocco, working under the MDM Genève name, unveiled a watch at Basel Fair that paired a gold case with a rubber strap, a combination that was borderline sacrilegious in Swiss watchmaking at the time. Named for its porthole-style bezel, it became the first Hublot. Forty-six years later, the brand is going back to the source with the Classic Fusion Tributo, offered in yellow gold or white gold.

Hublot has dipped into its archive before, so what sets this one apart? In short, it is less a reinterpretation and more a faithful return that has been strategically modernised. The recipe is exactly as it was: a gold case, a black rubber strap, and a black dial stripped of indices, with only the date at 3 o’clock. Even the twelve slightly domed bezel screws, which now do the job of marking time, make the trip back intact.

The proportions have been modernised, but only just. The case grows from the original’s 36mm to 38mm, measuring 9.5mm thick with 100 metres of water resistance – notably twice the depth rating of the current generation of time and date Classic Fusion watches. To remain more faithful and pure to the original design, Hublot resisted the urge to fit its One Click system. The black-lined rubber strap instead sits between exposed lugs, a small but deliberate detail that keeps the silhouette honest.

Inside is where everything changes. The 1980 original was a quartz watch, and the current catalogue of standard time-and-date Classic Fusion watches has had Sellita-based automatic movements, but the Tributo is powered by the Manufacture HUB1711, which, like the recent Classic Fusion Balloon Dog by Jeff Koons, is a self-winding calibre with 185 components and a power reserve of approximately 50 hours that is based on a more premium Zenith Elite ebauche. Its open-worked oscillating weight is shaped like the Hublot “H” and visible through the sapphire case back, a neat way of saying this is the same idea, just sharper and deeper.

Both versions share the same architecture, but they have very different attitudes. The yellow gold is the purist’s pick, and the one closest to the first Hublot ever made, with a black dial finished with a subtle charcoal effect and a yellow gold oscillating weight. It also carries the gold MDM pad-printing at 6 o’clock, a direct nod to Crocco’s original signature and to the Main Dans la Main Foundation he founded in 1998. The white gold is the stealthier variant of the pair, but has an arguably more flashy dial in polished black onyx (also signed MDM).

This tribute is a rare occasion where the founder is still around to see it. “Today, seeing the very first design and the origins of the Art of Fusion brought back to life is deeply emotional,” says Crocco. As a tribute, Hublot will donate CHF 100,000 to his Main Dans la Main Foundation, which supports vulnerable children and communities in need.

With all of the above considered, these are two strong references that offer everything that helped shape Hublot into what it is today, while tastefully modernising the spec to make the offer even more premium. Our only hope and curiosity is to see whether or not steel, titanium, or ceramic Tributos are ever made, democratising access to a more water-resistant and manufacture calibre-driven Classic Fusion to a broader audience than two US$30,900 gold models can ultimately serve. Or, if the calibre and depth rating upgrades will also make their way to the standard Classic Fusion design. Either would be a massive win in our eyes.

Hublot Classic Fusion Tributo pricing and availability

The Hublot Classic Fusion Tributo in yellow gold and white gold is available now for purchase. Price: US$30,900