Since its founding, in 1980, Hublot has championed a philosophy known as “fusion.”
Akin to gestalt theory, the principle is based on the notion that by uniting disparate techniques, materials, and cultures, a manufacturer can create a whole that will be greater than the sum of its parts. In 2016, the watchmaker advanced that theory when it announced a partnership with Maxime Buchi, founder of London-based Sang Bleu, popular tattoo artist to the music and fashion crowd. A native of Lausanne, Switzerland, Buchi trained as a graphic designer and typographer at the city’s ECAL University of Art and Design. Under the tutelage of tattoo artist Filip Leu, he turned his artistic eye to the ancestral art of skin decoration
Between the 518 baguette diamonds on the case, 260 white-diamond baguettes on the dial, a black veal strap set with 46 white diamond baguettes, and its King Gold bezel, the timepiece makes a blinding style statement. But for connoisseurs, the in-house Unico movement that ticks beneath its glittery exterior is just as dazzling.
Hublot Big Bang Unico Sang Bleu High Jewellery, $843,000; hublot.com