Hublot has recruited contemporary visual artist Daniel Arsham into its collaborator fold. Last week it released the Arsham Droplet, the replica hublot watches for sale world’s first sapphire crystal pocket watch – and Arsham’s first timepiece as an official Hublot ambassador.
The Droplet can be worn/used in three different ways: as a pocket watch, a pendant, or a table clock. Crafted from titanium (the case), rubber (bumpers) and sapphire crystal (a Hublot specialty), it measures 73.2mm (length) x 52.6 mm (width) and is 22.5 mm thick. The shape of the pocket watch is an asymmetrical droplet, unusual in itself when you think about the fact that, outside of Cartier, 99% of timekeeping devices are perfectly symmetrical. Timekeeping is a symmetrical business!
Presented replica hublot watches for sale with two newly Arsham-designed titanium chains, each featuring Hublot’s double “one-click” system, the links on the chain mirror the bubble-like structure created inside of the sapphire case, which looks almost like a microscopic close-up of foam bubbles. The piece can be worn multiple ways from a necklace to a pocket watch, or displayed as a sculptural centerpiece on its decorative titanium and mineral glass table stand. There are of course Daniel Arsham-branded touches all over the timepiece: the chain, the color, the Arsham monogram stamped on the surface and the use of the Arsham studio green. We can see, loud and clear, that this is an Arsham collab piece.
The timepiece/pocket watch/sculpture (I really don’t know what to call it) comes equipped with manual winding caliber Meca-10, which boasts a 10-day power reserve. I’m not sure anybody needs 10 days of reserve for their sapphire crystal pocket watch, but hey, this is Hublot and more is more. Despite looking materially techy, the timepiece has an organic feeling to it. The droplet feels smooth in your hands – a tactile little ticking organism that you can caress and grip. It’s soothing.
The Droplet is a bold departure from traditional Swiss watchmaking; I mean surely that’s expected from this collaboration. The MO here is to disrupt. Arsham (much like Hublot) is divisive. He can often inspire an eye-roll amongst those who consider themselves discerning culture consumers. But, Arsham is also one of the most globally recognized living artists. What’s unique about him in this context is that his art does in fact bear a relationship with the concept of time in his exploration of decay, specifically the aesthetic of erosion on modern objects.
There is no empty ambassador spiel about his “relationship with time,” because replica hublot watches for sale his point of view on the subject feels worth listening to. “So much of my work is about thinking about the past and connecting it with the future – it’s like mixing times,” Arsham said during the launch last week. “This object looks like something from the past, it recalls this way of telling time that’s from another era, but it feels like a kind of technology of the future… the watch is more than just an object to tell time, it’s a sculptural proposition.”
Working with world famous contemporary artists has thus far been a successful formula for Hublot. There is always a very clever method to the brand’s madness. Undoubtedly Hublot wakes up every morning and thinks “what can I do differently today?” – a brazen stance for any Swiss watch brand. But the ripple effect of creating a watch with a globally recognized artist means exposure to corners of the consumer public that would simply never notice you otherwise. And selling a run of 100 LE watches doesn’t seem like a hard task, given the breadth of the artists’ existing fanbase. These sorts of collaborations, if done sparingly enough, can really only do good for Hublot.
Arsham, himself, is an eccentric creature. He often wears replica hublot watches for sale the same cream or beige colored uniform, the same baseball cap and the same orange tinted or black shades every day. He is a celebrity figure who maintains an enigmatic stage persona. As an observer, the Daniel Arsham effect feels like it’s all been very carefully constructed. His behavior, his speech delivery, his product, the partnerships he takes on – it’s all part of a very well thought out and lucrative Daniel Arsham Studio ecosystem.
No doubt Arsham has a singular point of view, a view which many respect. But perhaps his greatest achievement has been to capitalize so successfully during this era of collaboration, wielding dollar profit and celebrity from his personal branding and style more than his actual art. The same can be said of Murakami. Hublot is smart to recognize the power of collaborators like these. It’s all about finding artists with identifiable enough markers that can be translated into a conceptual watch. It’s Pop Art in product form.
Today, the role of the artist as a frontrunner for counterculture has given way to large commercial endeavors and very clever marketing. Arsham is an artist, but above all he’s an extremely marketable product. His brand is commercially viable enough to collaborate with giant LVMH brands like Hublot and Tiffany, “easy” enough to be consumable for the masses, and just “cool” enough to keep the intrigue running. Even if the Droplet isn’t your cup of tea, the pocket watch feels so entirely replica hublot watches for sale and also so entirely Arsham that you can’t knock either party. It’s a respectful 50/50 split of design ideals.
Hublot x Daniel Arsham is a deal that will likely yield millions of dollars for both the brand and for Arsham. Love it or hate it, I am certain you will have feelings about it. And surely that is a win for Hublot.
