The luxury watchmaker looks back to a revolutionary 1980 design, combining a sleek black dial and rubber strap with upgraded 18k yellow and white gold cases.
Nearly 50 years after pioneering the radical blend of gold and rubber, Hublot honors its bold heritage with the new Classic Fusion Tributo.
Now available in both white gold and yellow gold, the luxury sport watch pioneer relied on the groundbreaking 1980 debut to inform the new duo, bolstering the case size from 36mm to 38mm while keeping the same basic design foundation. That means the new Classic Fusion Tributo lineup keeps its gold case and black rubber strap, alongside the “black-and-gold tension that has defined Hublot from day one,” the Swiss watchmaker said.
The two new watches, which were introduced at a lavish Milan event, are touted as “not merely a reinterpretation, but a return to the origin crafted with all the expertise the manufacture has acquired and integrated since its creation in 1980.”
Originally introduced under the MDM Genève name by Hublot founder Carlo Crocco, the minimal dial with no indices sent shockwaves through the industry, a feat also carried on by the latest Hublot watch. The horologist recently went much more bold and colorful with a series of collaborative watches launched alongside artist Jeff Koons, and reinvented another one of its flagship timepieces (the Big Bang Tourbillon) with tennis star and ambassador Novak Djokovic at LVMH Watch Week earlier this year. The Hublot Classic Fusion Tributo, on the other hand, gets back to basics in luxe yet sleek fashion, featuring a self-winding movement with an impressive 50-hour power reserve.
As Hublot notes, “every detail is deliberate,” particularly the upgraded internal architecture of the watch, as its automatic movement replaces what was once a quartz movement in the original 1980 sport watch. A date window appears at 3-o’clock in a nod to the first Classic Fusion, and its open-worked oscillating weight is also shaped as the iconic Hublot “H” and visible through a transparent sapphire caseback. The carefully considered changes reflect “exactly what Hublot has become: Sharper, deeper, more technical, without losing the original idea,” according to the watchmaker.
Its dial also receives other thoughtful touches, whether acquired in white gold or yellow gold. Of note is the use of gold MDM pad-printing at the 6-o’clock dial marking, while the black lacquered dial also gives off a subtle charcoal tone. The 6-o’clock dial marking represents what the watchmaker calls “a direct link to Carlo Crocco and the original MDM Genève signature seen on the very first Hublot.” A worthy homage on both timepiece variations, indeed.
The maison rightly notes each version of the Hublot Classic Fusion Tributo represents the intersection where “the DNA of the original meets modern mastery.” Each timepiece was developed and assembled in Nyon, and Hublot notes the latest luxurious watch duo “embodies a single conviction: At Hublot, design, craftsmanship and trust are built to stand the test of time.” Consider Hublot’s tribute to the groundbreaking classic a success, at least at an initial glance. Both the white gold and yellow gold offerings of the Hublot Classic Fusion Tributo can be found online at Hublot or select Hublot points of sale for about $30,900.