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Hublot Classic Fusion Extra-Thin Skeleton Watch Hands-On

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:06:30 +0000

A surprising new member of the Hublot watch family this year will be the new Classic Fusion Extra-Thin Skeleton. It is relatively thin (especially for a Hublot), it is relatively simple (just the time), and it has a very nice looking modern skeletonized movement and dial. Overall a winner if the look suits you.

Recently the Classic Fusion collection came out (covered here) and was an interesting mix of Big Bang and more traditional watch looks. I had some nice things to say about it, but this Extra-Thin Skeleton model is much more impressive. I actually like that the hands are not skeletonized. Speaking of which, there is this huge trend in people making skeletonized hands and I really don't get it. Do people really go so ga-ga over skeletonized hands?

Skeletonzied movements on the other hands are much more interesting. Here, Hublot seems to take a base Unitas style manually-wound movement and built it using a new framework with technical looking bridges and a hip modern feel. This sure isn't your grandfather's skeletonized watch. The movement is called the Hublot caliber HUB1300 and is just 2.90mm thick with a 90 hour power reserve. It only has the time with subsidiary seconds dial. Overall it looks fantastic and very nice with the Classic Fusion case and style.

The dial has nicely sized hands that aren't too short. Short hands on this watch would kill it for me - but Hublot doesn't fail at all in this department. While the movement is the dial, Hublot is still able to apply sizable hour markers to ensure legibility is high. This is done with a sapphire plate over the movement I believe. An interesting design touch is that the Hublot uses a thin black outline for its logo to ensure it sticks out. I quite like that.

Offered in both titanium and 18k King Gold (basically red gold), the Classic Fusion Extra-Thin Skeleton comes in a 45mm wide case attached to a black alligator (with a rubber lining) strap. The case is water resistant to 50 meters and looks real nice on the wrist. Hublot really did an excellent job with these and both versions look nice. They will actually be offered as limited editions. There will be 1000 pieces of the Hublot Classic Fusion Extra-Thin Skeleton in titanium and 500 pieces of the watch in King Gold. Look for them later in 2012.

TECHNICAL DETAILS from Hublot:

References 515.NX.0170.LR - Titanium, 1000-piece limited series
515.OX.0180.LR - 18K King Gold, 500-piece limited series
Case "Classic Fusion" - Diameter 45 mm
Titanium or 18K King Gold, polished and satin-finished
Bezel Titanium or 18K King Gold, with vertical satin finish
6 H-shaped countersunk, polished & locked titanium screws
Crystal Sapphire with interior/exterior anti-reflective coating
Bezel Lug Black composite resin
Crown Polished titanium or 18K King Gold, with Hublot logo
Case-back Satin-finished titanium or satin-finished 18K King Gold with sapphire crystal, interior anti-reflective coating
Water resistance 5 ATM, i.e. approx 50 metres
Dial Sapphire with silvered or red gold Hublot logo transfer
Anti-reflective coating on topside/underside
Polished & rhodium-plated or red gold-plated indexes
Hands Polished & rhodium-plated or red gold-plated
Movement HUB1300 hand-wound skeleton
Small seconds at 7 o'clock
Thickness 2.90 mm
Components 123
Jewels 23
Frequency 3 Hz (21,600 Vib/h)
Power reserve Approximately 90 hours
Wristlet Black alligator strap stitched onto black rubber
Clasp Deployant buckle in black PVD steel or 18K red gold

Jean-Claude Biver Steps Down As CEO Of Hublot

admin — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:01:46 +0000

Hublot watches just announced that its charismatic and successful CEO Jean-Claude Biver has stepped down as the brand's CEO. I state this with sadness as Jean-Claude has not only been a friend but a very good example of what a Swiss watch CEO should be like. He is a master of marketing and collaborations. He not only knows how to save a brand but also how to make it something that the non watch news wants to cover. As a member of the press if there are two things I can say about him that all CEO's should aspire t0, then it would be his accessibility and involvement. Mr. Biver almost instantly responds to all e-mails and requests, and has a special talent for making each person he speaks to feel unique and important.

Jean-Claude isn't exactly leaving Hublot. He will remain there as the Chairman of the Board. This loosely defined position will give him less responsibilites but keep him aboard as a figurehead and adviser to the brand he helped revive. It has long since been rumored that Jean-Claude would leave Hublot to buy another brand and start over, but this is not the case. While not an old man, Jean-Claude is likely stepping down for health reasons and due to the draining nature of all the travel that is required of a Swiss watch CEO. As the Chairman of the Board he will be able to more selectively participate in brand activities and spend more time at home with his family. If you recall this is the same thing that Steve Jobs did at Apple, but I am not insinuating that Biver has those types of health problems.

Replacing Jean-Claude Biver as CEO will be Hublot's current Managing Director and # 2 man Ricardo Guadalupe. While Guadalupe has been friends and a colleague of Biver for about 20 years, he has been part of Hublot since 2005. He is no stranger to Biver's tactics or personality. Guadalupe however is a very different man than Jean-Claude. It is unclear how things will change once Guadalupe is placed in the top position at the brand, but with Mr. Biver around for advice and as a spokesperson I don't anticipate much change for the next several years.

My hope is that Jean-Claude Biver continues to devote much of his time to the brand he worked so hard to build-up. I have always said that Hublot is very much a "Biver brand." It is difficult to separate the two. When I see most Hublot watches in my mind I see his red tinted face and boyish smile announcing it with pride. Good luck to Ricardo who has some big shoes to fill, but who has been trained well for the job.

Official Statement from Hublot:

All of us at Hublot are very pleased to inform you that Mr. Ricardo Guadalupe, former Managing Director of the Company, and personal friend of Mr. Jean Claude Biver with whom he has been working since nearly 20 years, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer effective January 1st 2012.

This step was planned a long time ago in consideration of Mr. Guadalupe’s significant and instrumental achievements together with Mr. Jean Claude Biver since joining Hublot in 2005.

Mr. Jean Claude Biver will continue to serve Hublot as the company’s Chairman of the Board, and as in the past give his precious insights into business strategy and product development. As the official spokesperson of Hublot, Mr. Biver will also coordinate communications activities with the press, collectors as well as trade and industry.

“There is a time for learning, a time for doing, a time for handing over, and a time for moving on. I’ve happily made it safe and sound to the hand-over stage. With the gratification of being able to hand over to a friend and colleague of more than twenty years. And happiness at the prospect of remaining part of the team on matters relating to strategy, products and corporate relations.” -- Jean-Claude Biver

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

Hublot King Power Unico GMT Watch

admin — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 11:00:24 +0000

For those of you who love all of the Hublot content here is an exclusive look at a brand new one for 2012 with a new in-house made movement. This is the Hublot King Power Unico GMT watch. It has a unique way of showing 24 timezones on the dial and looks very slick. The idea is very similar to how the Girard-Perregaux ww.tc works, but just displayed in a very different manner.

The four GMT discs move with the main time. Using the little red lines and city names around the bezel and inside of the dial you can tell the time in each of the 24 hour time zones. Neat right? I like the novel approach that combines a little Hublot, a time honored complication, and what feels like some Urwerk inspiration given a dial that looks like the satellite time display on the UR-103 series.

The King Power Unico GMT watch will come in a 48mm wide King Power case in either 18k king gold or in black ceramic. Both versions have ceramic bezels. Inside the watch is the Hublot caliber HUB 1220 automatic GMT movement with 72 hours of power reserve. Notice the placement of the main time adjustment pusher placed at about 2 o'clock on the case. Overall a cool watch and some interesting new stuff from Hublot for the King Power collection. Look for the King Power Unico GMT watch in 2012.

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

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Hublot To Offer Scratch Resistant “Magic Gold” Watches

admin — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 08:06:14 +0000

Hublot will be adding a new material to its "art of fusion" parts bin which they call "Magic Gold." Magic gold is a special 18k gold and ceramic alloy which offers the look and feel of 18k gold with the incredibly high scratch resistance of ceramic materials. Many people who currently own gold watches will likely be very excited about this.

Gold is an incredibly popular material for high-end watches marred only by its softness (and perhaps price these days). Watch cases in gold are already not pure gold in order for them to have a slightly tougher alloy. But anyone who has worn an 18k gold watch will testify that the material picks up nicks and scratches with incredible ease.

18k gold often has a little "750" stamped in it. This number indicates the percentage of actual gold per 1000 parts in the material. For gold to be 18k it must be 750 parts per 1000 as I understand it. It is logical to ask whether or not magic gold meets this number or is less given the ceramic compounds. According to Hublot, Magic Gold has the same 750 parts per 1000 of gold as 18k gold - thus making it at least as valuable at 18k gold (with the the scratch resistance).

Pure ceramic cases range in strength as measured on the Vickers scale. As Magic Gold does contain a lot of gold, it is not going to be as tough as the strongest ceramic materials, but it will be much tougher than regular gold. According to Hublot, normal 18k gold is about 400 Vickers in strength. Good steel is about 600 Vickers, and Magic Gold is about 1000 Vickers. Most pure ceramic cases range from about 1,200 - 2,000 Vickers but can max out at 10,000 Vickers. The bottom line is that Magic Gold is more scratch resistant than steel and more than twice as scratch resistant at standard 18k gold. That little fact alone should appeal to a lot of consumers interested in a gold watch because it means that their investment will remain cosmetically pleasing for much longer.

I have to say that when I first heard about this new development from Hublot a few months ago I was pretty excited. This isn't a design gimmick or some hyped partnership. This is a cool new material that has a desirable and useful use in the market. With ceramic more and more being the luxury material of course I like the idea that brands are vetted to making high-end watches that are built to last. Nothing is more painful than putting in a lot of money into a watch, and then having it show cosmetic wear too fast. Also note the Chanel J12 Chromatic watch that makes use of ceramic material with lots of titanium in it (hard and very light).

In 2012 at Baselworld Hublot will be releasing a new collection of watches that utilize Magic Gold. I don't know how much it will cost compared to standard 18k gold, and whether or not Hublot will be replacing all of its current gold watches with Magic gold. I anticipate that it will have a premium associated with it for at least a few years. Wait until closer to March 2012 for more Hublot Magic Gold watch products.

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

Hublot Bling Evolution: Diamonds On A Big Bang Watch

admin — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 08:02:58 +0000

Years ago when the first Hublot Big Bang came out it was an interesting watch to most people. It had an aggressive military and industrial sensibility to it that so many men enjoyed back then, and still enjoy today. Not everyone is in love with Hublot watches, but most tend to agree that the Big Bang was a solid design. So solid that for a long time Hublot became typecast as a firm making only Big Bang watches. That is until a few years ago when watches like the King Power and others came along to fill in the product line a bit more.

Going back to the Big Bang I thought it would be interesting to explore the "jewelry-ification" of the piece. From the original masculine design to pieces completely covered in diamonds, it is fascinating to see how the core design has held up to being studded in diamonds. The newest diamond-dressed Big Bang watch is called the Hublot Baby Million (though I am not sure what is so "baby" about it). It is a $302,000 priced piece with 28 carats of diamonds on it. Here it is the first shown watch in this article and prompted this discussion. Why? Well because in addition to being almost totally covered in diamonds, the core Hublot Big Bang design is preserved on the dial and case - despite the 891 diamonds all over the timepiece. That wasn't simple - to make a haute joaillerie Big Bang still look like a Big Bang watch.

A million bucks isn't the highest amount Hublot has asked for a Big Bang watch. There have been a few such "million" (I am not even sure of the currencies sometimes) Big Bangs up to the 3 million dollar version with a tourbillon. What I like is how each of these is actually set differently with stones. These are also among the few men's watches with diamonds that I think I could pull off wearing. Of course that statement is almost entirely fantasy because the prices are outrageous, but you get the idea. I tend to think of diamond studded watches as being primarily feminine. Though the right guy (Elton John) call pull it off.

Moving down the article you can see a few Big Bang watches will less and less diamonds down to one of the originals on a rubber strap. The evolution of the watch is interesting and thought-provoking for what is (love it or hate it) an icon of modern luxury sport watches. The Hublot Baby Million is probably a perfect hybrid between the look of the original and the jewelry style that many of these are going for. Hublot does deserve some credit for taking a cool looking 44mm wide watch and making the most out of the design. It remains a piece I admire - though given the extremely wide range of variations Hublot has made, I have no idea which I would wear if I could choose just one.

The luxury watch market needs diamonds. Hublot sort of never had a choice when it came to putting diamonds on the Big Bang. I always thought it was sort of silly when a nice sport watch was suddenly available with diamonds. Years before Hublot ever did this it was brands like Rolex and Omega that made it clear how necessary it was. Why? Well because there are finicky luxury lovers who simply won't wear anything else. It might seems hard to believe for some people, but I have met plenty of watch collector's who have said "nice watch, but does it come in gold with diamonds? I don't wear anything else." The first few times I heard this it was surprising, but it is a fact. For me, I have no prejudice against a nice steel timepiece. I actually have some prejudice against sport watches slathered in precious materials, but the best of them are important parts of the watch universe.

With large budgets and healthy desire to play with design and precious materials, I think we are no where near the end of the diamond-covered Big Bang. Though it is good to know what is underneath all the stones.

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

Hublot Big Bang Watch For Architect Oscar Niemeyer

admin — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 08:04:41 +0000

In case you've ever wondered what an Hublot watch would look like on a 104 year old man, this is it. This chap is famous Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer and he has been fortunate to not only live a very long time, but also have a very accomplished career behind him. For us Americans, he most notably architected the United Nations building in New York City.

Hublot now honors him with a watch. See a video that Hublot made presenting the watch to him here. Actually, Hublot has a dual reason for making this watch. The piece is also in honor of Brazil - a country Hublot has been keen to keep popularity high with. And why Brazil now? Well the FIFA World Cup for 2014 is coming to Brasilia, Brazil and Hublot also happens to have a relationship the kings of soccer.

My interest is more with Niemeyer however. I still think it is very interesting to see him wearing a futuristic Big Bang Aero Bang watch in tantalum with a dial in black accented with the yellow and green colors of the Brazilian flag. Jean-Claude Biver of Hublot is very open with the type of advertising and marketing that he is willing to experiment with. Most brands would probably not do this, but I applaud Hublot for doing so. I have a feeling Oscar never saw this coming. 30 years ago I am sure he would have been thrilled to get a limited edition watch in his honor. Today I am happy he is still alive. I think all very senior citizens should get cool looking futuristic watches. Timex, get some special modern versions of the Easy Reader out there OK?

On the back of the limited edition Aero Bang 44mm Oscar Niemeyer is an engraving of the Brazilian National Congress - a building that Niemeyer designed. Looking at his designs I think I know who designed Mos Eisely on Tatooine for Star Wars. Seriously right? That and the Space Mountain ride building at Disneyland. Niemeyer's interesting sense of shapes, light colors and mid 20th century futurism are easy to appreciate today. Looks like the majority of his buildings are in Brazil and Spain.

Limited to 104 pieces the Hublot Niemeyer watch is in tantalum (don't ask why the caseback says "tantalum" as well as "titanium"). In the Aero Bang collection, it has a skeletonized dial and overall black/gray style. I do really like the "lemon and lime" colors of the hands and hour markers. Good for Brazil, or 7-Up.

Tech specs from Hublot:

BIG BANG 44 MM "AERO BANG NIEMEYER"
Reference 311.AI.1149.HR.NIE11

Series Limited to 104 pieces numbered from 01/104 to 104/104
Case 44.5 mm Big Bang, in micro-blasted tantalum
Bezel Micro-blasted tantalum
6 H-shaped black PVD titanium screws, countersunk, polished & locked
Crystal Sapphire with interior/exterior anti-reflective treatment
Bezel Lugs Black composite
Lateral inserts Black composite
Crown Black PVD titanium with black rubber insert
Push-pieces Black PVD titanium, rectangular, with black rubber inserts
Case-back Open tantalum, with circular satin finish
Case-back crystal Transfer of the Square of Three Powers, one of Oscar Niemeyer's legendary works in Brasilia
Water resistance 10 Atm, i.e. approx 100 metres
Dial Matt black openworked skeleton.
Green varnished indexes, with yellow SuperLuminova™
Hands Polished black nickel, with yellow SuperLuminova™
Chronograph hand with H counterweight
Movement HUB4214 - Mechanical chronograph with automatic winding
Components 252
Jewels 27
Bridges Satin-finished, bevelled & polished
Screws Black PVD titanium
Calendar Trapezoid window at 4.30
Oscillating weight Openworked and coated in black PVD, tungsten segment
Main plate Micro-blasted black chromium
Barrel Reinforced spring
Escapement Glucydur hairspring
Power reserve Approximately 42 hours
Strap Adjustable black rubber and black Crocodile Porosus Hornback strap, with grey stitching
Clasp Big Bang black PVD deployant buckle, titanium screws and satin-finished tantalum plate

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

Hublot Big Bang Chrono Tourbillon Ferrari Watch

admin — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:14:58 +0000

It's here. This is the first Ferrari branded Hublot timepiece to come out of the two brand's joint partnership. Unveiled in China, the watch called the Hublot Big Bang Chrono Tourbillon Ferrari is meant to celebrate the quizzically celebration-worthy 20th anniversary of the first Ferrari car sold in China. I don't even think the dealerships there knew about that.

Limited to just 20 pieces the watch (ref. 308.QX.1110.HR.SCF11) will be offered in a 44mm wide all carbon fiber case with red tinted sapphire crystal. See the Ferrari logo as part of the chronograph subdial. The movement is the Hublot caliber 6300 column-wheel chronograph with tourbillon and power reserve. You can see the full tech specs below. Hublot considers this as a bit of a preview for a larger Ferrari watch collection from the brand that will debut at Baselworld 2012.

Tech Specs from Hublot:

BIG BANG CHRONO TOURBILLON FERRARI
20th Anniversary of the First Ferrari in China
Technical details
Reference 308.QX.1110.HR.SCF11
Series 20 pieces numbered from 01/20 to 20/20
Unveiled in Guangzhou, China to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first Ferrari in China
Case Big Bang - Diameter 44 mm, made from carbon fibre
Bezel Carbon fibre
Crystal Red sapphire with Hublot transfer
Bezel Lugs Black composite resin
Lateral inserts Black composite resin
Crown Ǿ 8.40 satin-finished, with black rubber insert
Screws Black PVD titanium
Push-pieces 2 o'clock satin-finished black with red lacquer
Case-back Carbon fibre with red inscriptions
Case-back crystal "20th Anniversary of Ferrari in China" transfer, with Ferrari Horse in the centre
Water resistance 10 ATM, i.e. approx 100 metres
Dial Matt black with black nickel indexes
Ferrari Horse in the centre of the Chrono minute counter at 2 o'clock
Hands Faceted & polished hands + red 60-min counter
Movement HUB 6300 Column-wheel chronograph, clutch Tourbillon escapement coupled directly to the cage, with power reserve indicator on the dial side
No. of components 269
Jewels 35
Bridges Carbon fibre
Screws Polished steel
Main plate Circular-grained black gold
Barrel Reinforced spring
Escapement Glucydur hairspring
Power reserve Approximately 120 hours
Strap Adjustable black rubber and black Porosus Hornback crocodile strap, with red stitching
Clasp Big Bang micro-blasted black PVD titanium deployant buckle, micro-blasted black PVD titanium cap, micro-blasted black ceramic decorative plate, black ink engraving and polished black PVD screws

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

Hublot La Cle Du Temps Watch Hands-On

admin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:42:59 +0000

Does the key of time hold the key to time? Depends on how you look at it. A few years ago Mathias Buttet created a weird watch movement capable of speeding up and slowing down time, and then automatically return the dial to the normal time. Poetically the movement had a lot of value, though practically it had next to none. What it did however do was offer a unique design opportunity to see how one might create a timepiece around this concept. This is the third try.

The first watch to use this complex vertical tourbillon based movement was a company called Horus that made a boat style watch out of it called the Ultramarinum. I believe Horus is now defunct. Then Mathias decided to use the movement in one of his own watches for the BNB Confrerie Horlogerie in a watch called the La Clef (with an "f") du Temps. I actually got to play with this incredible odd watch hands-on for myself. Mathias explained to me that it was designed using the look of the movie character Predator's head. Fair enough. BNB is not defunct. Mr. Buttet with his risk taking and creativity is now at Hublot running the movement making and designing arm. With Mr. Biver's guidance and the Hublot DNA, I think that Mathias finally found his groove.

Early this year I wrote about this watch that now has the name of the Hublot Confrerie La Cle du Temps - and now I offer you a hands-on experience of an almost ready for production model of the watch. Priced at over $300,000 this isn't a watch that is made to make money. It is make as a concept, a passion play of design and movement making designed to stimulate the imagination and offer Hublot a creative outlet. With pieces such as this coming from Hublot on a regular basis, they are more or less the premiere brand right now that is releasing experimental futuristic designs and movements. Chalk up to a Biver + Buttet power relationship.

On the wrist the watch actually looks a bit smaller than its massive visual stature might suggest. A lot of it is in black rubber and black metal to emphasis the luminous green elements on the dial. If I didn't know better I would say this that watch looked like one of the coolest movie props around. It just has a distinct Hollywood vibe to it. This is also the watch Mathias himself has been wearing on his own wrist the last few times I have seen him. The dial has been meticulously designed by Mr. Buttet to be more legible than before, but also much more futuristic. Facing toward you on your wrist is a massive gaping maw of what is a vertical tourbillon staring at you. To operate the watch you have just two large crowns - one on each side of the case. It doesn't even need to the tell the time to look cool.

Buttet seemed to realize that the function to speed up and slow down time was more or less a gimmick. The watch doesn't focus too much on this element. In fact, that function might not be there and you probably wouldn't notice. I see it as more of a "my watch should entertain me when I am bored feature." The information you see more is the time and power reserve for the five days of energy the La Cle du Temps movement stores. Everything about the watch is about experimental design.

I did mention that it was comfortable to wear - which is true. I would love to walk around a watch-hungry city in Asia and see what people think. Most of the time I would endeavor to discuss the little details in a watch such as the materials it was made out of and its dimensions. In this instance I am not even going to bother. Why? It is totally immaterial to one's decision to buy it. "Shame it is 50mm wide versus 48mm wide, that really would have pushed my decision to purchase over the ledge." Really not what is at issue here. The sad thing is that this watch isn't likely to get you laid as much as it should. You are more likely to get a Star Trek convention fan aroused with this on your wrist than you are that hottie in a one-piece mini dress at the club who can only see a few pieces of the watch glow in the dark in front of her. Ten minutes into your conversation on what this watch does, she has slipped into a thought trance on what all future conversations with you are going to be like.

At least you'll know that it is cool. Isn't that enough for you? Hublot will make just 50 pieces of the La Cle Du Temps for the world to digest. If I don't see Mathias wearing one of these on a regular basis I will be just a bit disappointed. His next invention should be a watch that works on speeding up and slowing down the tempo in people talking to you. Wouldn't you like conversations with your parents to happens four times faster?

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

Hublot Is Official Watch Maker & Timekeeper Of Ferrari

admin — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 19:53:59 +0000

Hublot announced today that they have partnered with Ferrari to become (among other things) their official watch maker and official time keeper. This means that during their agreement only Hublot can produce Ferrari branded timepieces. Hublot will also be a branded partner during Ferrari events (and likely the Ferrari name will be displayed at many Hublot events). They refer to this as a "comprehensive agreement covering all the activities of Ferrari and Hublot..." I know, a bit vague, but I think we get the idea.

Ferrari has had an interesting history with watches. For a long time there were a range of lower-priced quartz watches. Then they worked with high-end brand Girard-Perregaux for some nice watches. After that they entered into what most people generally agree was a failed relationship with Panerai. After that Cabestan produced some very interesting highly limited Ferrari timepieces. There might be even more history that I am not considering. Starting today it is all about Ferrari and Hublot exclusively. With Hublot's strong track record being the official watch maker for Formula 1, they were probably able to show Ferrari all the highly marketable high-end pieces that they can produce. I anticipate some cool watches and events moving forward.

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

Hublot Antikythera Calibre 2033-CH01 Watch Is A Re-Imagined Greek Masterpiece

admin — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 07:05:52 +0000

One of the things I really appreciate about Hublot is that they don't do everything directly to sell watches. A lot of their events and projects are for charity or to further development in the horological world. Yes of course there is a branding element to each of these projects and it gets people write about the brand that might not otherwise cover a wrist watch story, but in the end it makes for a very dynamic Hublot.

I recently joined Hublot for the official unveiling of the Antikythera movement that Mathias Buttet worked on making for the last several years. In French they call it the Anticythère, and the movement reference is the Calibre 2033-CH01. Lets start with some history, both recent and ancient.

Before being at Hublot Mathias Buttet ran BNB Concept. When the economic crisis hit and BNB Concept went out of business, Hublot (a large customer of theirs) bought up much of their resources and hired Mathias. While still at BNB he was working on the replication (not exact in terms of shape, but in terms of function) of something that was known as the Antikythera. The project was never completed and when Jean-Claude Biver hired him, he made promises to Mathias that he could still pursue certain pet projects such as this. Mathias was happy to inform me recently (as he has a few times actually) that Jean-Claude has kept his promises.

Not long ago Mathias was finally able to complete the Antikythera, miniaturizing the concept of the original into a wrist watch. And only Buttet's version actually tells the time and has a tourbillon. The man just LOVES tourbillons. It also runs by itself whereas the original needed to be hand-cranked. Hublot announced that no Antikythera movements will ever be sold. They anticipate making 3-4 of them and selling them (via auction) for charity. The sale of which I believe will benefit the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris (a really cool museum that focuses on the history of machines).

So it took a long time and isn't going to make Hublot any money. Why do all this then? According to Jean-Claude Biver he (and Hublot) are a supporter of the arts, advancing technology, and using their talents to assist where possible. In fact, study of the Antikythera is one place where their talents are particularly useful.

The device itself has a modern history starting in about 1900 when it was discovered in a sunken ship off the coast of an island called Antikythera. That is where the name of the device came from. In the ship were a series of ancient Greek treasures, and well as the mechanical device. It was badly rusted from being underwater for so long. Estimates are that the ship sank between 80-60 BC. The device is carbon dated to being older than that.

For a long time what the Antikythera machine was, who made it, and how it worked were unclear. Much of that is still unclear. As there are no other machines like it, historians still don't fully understand who it was built by - though it is clear to have been made by the ancient Greek people. The device was made in bronze, and other machines of clock-work origin have also been referenced to in texts from the same era - though none quite like, or as complicated as the Antikythera. Plus, no other ones were ever actually discovered to my understanding. After being studied and now a bit more understood, the Antikythera machine is referred to as the oldest calculator in human history. We've had math nerds in existence for that long it seems (probably longer).

Until x-ray technology was good enough, we had no way of seeing into the corroded machine that has spent 2000 years under water. Parts of it were completely destroyed but from the fragments we have been able to understand at least what the Antikythera machine was designed to do. It was really about coordinating events with various celestial phases, as well as predicting events like eclipses. The Greeks obsessively tried to understand and predict cycles of the moving bodies in the sky, and machines like this helped synthesize that work.

A crank handle on the side of the Antikythera operated the machine - which was a series of gears placed into what might have been a wooden box. The original machine sits in a museum in Greece, but a replica of a working piece has been made (that I too a few pictures of). Both sides of the machine showed information like a double-sided watch. It relied upon calendar systems used at the time which we only have partial understandings of. The device has markings on it which were believed to be a form of instruction manual for how to use it.

On one side of the Antikythera was a sort of Earth-centric solar system. It has the Earth in the center with the moon going around it (which also spun between a light and dark side to show the phases). The is also a sun indicator that actually pointed to zodiac markers, which in the modern version has been incorporated with a month indicator. The scales also show a constellation chart, as well as another scale for the Egyptian calendar (which was 365 days long). Indicators around the dials showed what might be ways of determining what stars would be visible in the sky.

The other side of the Antikythera displays some information that is much more esoteric by today's account. There is a Metonic calendar scale (235 months being 19 years total), a Callipic cycle (4 x 235 months), a Saros dial (223 month cycle) and a Exeligmos dial (3 x 223 months). Last, there is an interesting indicator which displays the cycles of the pan-Hellenic games each four years. This is an Olympic games indicator.

It would have taken years to fully compute and study each of these scales and cycles to indicate them properly. Not only that, but the sheer precision needed to construct the device requires technology that most of us don't give credit to the ancients for having. The existence of the Antikythera mechanism really calls into question what we know about the ancient world, and makes you wonder just how much knowledge was lost.

When he learned about the Antikythera Buttet really wanted to remake it. As of that time no one fully understood it enough to produce a replica. At the event a prototype of the Hublot Calibre 2033-CH01 movement was displayed. While it does not visually replicate the original Antikythera in miniature exactly, it does offer the same indicators computed in more or less the same way. Buttet also ads the time and a tourbillon into the mix. To commercially release one would be just too expensive for the consumer according the Hublot.

The movement has 495 parts making it very complicated. Buttet acknowledges that it was a challenge to understand the original and get his reproduction to work properly. You can see the full tech specs below for more details on the movement. Hublot has successfully helped to restore knowledge of the first calculator known to exist. Though the mystery of the Antikythera does not end. Perhaps someday we will have a better understanding of why it was made, for whom, and by who. Until then we can look forward to Hublot unveiling the full watch at Baselworld 2012. I hear that it will come in a very cool (and futuristic looking) case. Mark your Greco/Egyptian calendars now.

Tech Specs from Hublot

Hublot Antikythera Calibre 2033-CH01

Movement functions

Hours, minutes

Seconds via the tourbillon cage

Flying tourbillon without ball bearing

Manual winding

View of dial

Egyptian Calendar

Calendar for the Panhellenic games

Zodiac

Aperture showing moon

Lunar phases

Aperture showing sun

View of bridges

Metonic cycle

Saros cycle

Callippic cycle

Exeligmos cycle

Main characteristics

Dimensions of shaped movement

Width 30.40 mm

Length 38.00 mm

Thickness 14.14 mm (overall dimensions)

Time-setting stem (3 o'clock)                Manual winding
2-position                                             Time setting
Number of jewels                                 69

Number of components                        495
Hairspring                                            Flat for extremely accurate setting
Frequency                                            21,600 Vib/h (3 Hz)

Power reserve Approximately 120 hours (5 days)
Oscillator (made in-house) Balance with adjustment inertia-blocks

Moment of inertia: 16mg/cm2

Lift angle: 53°

Shock absorbers Shock absorption for main plate and balance bridge

Main plate and bridges Brass, bevelled with drawn rims, and circular-grained recesses

Coating: black ruthenium

Dial showing cycles and calendar Circular-graining, 5N gold coating
Gear train Circular-grained & bevelled wheels, coating: rhodium, rolled pinions

Fasteners Polished and bevelled heads, rounded and polished ends
Steel parts Satin-finished, bevelled, with drawn rims

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.