Swiss watchmaker Hublot replica watches are celebrating their ongoing “HUBLOT LOVES ART” campaign by partnering with street artists Hush and Tristan Eaton. The results of this collaboration are two new limited edition watches based loosely on the concepts of “Fame” and “Fortune,” as embodied by Hollywood on America’s West Coast and Wall Street in New York’s Financial District respectively. Hush was tasked with designing “Fame,” in the form of the Hublot Spirit of Big Bang West Coast Ceramic Black and White. Tristan Eaton’s collaboration piece is therefore “Fortune,” in the form of the Hublot Classic Fusion 45mm Chronograph East Coast Bronze.
Street artist Hush is representing America’s West Coast with his timepiece, in particular Hollywood and its association with fame. Although Hush is actually based in London, he is known for his work with frescoes throughout Los Angeles, including areas of West Hollywood, Melrose, and Santa Monica. The Hublot Spirit of Big Bang West Coast Ceramic Black and White is Hush’s first collaboration piece with the brand, designed around a monochromatic portrait of a posing woman who is unnamed but for some reason reminds me strongly of Milla Jovovich’s character in Zoolander.
Tristan Eaton has a creative agency called Thunderdog Studios based in New York, and many of his large-scale murals are featured in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Accordingly, Eaton is representing America’s East Cost with the Hublot Classic Fusion 45mm Chronograph East Coast Bronze, and in particular New York’s Financial District (tying into the “Fortune” theme). The bronze case is meant to symbolize the iconic Charging Bull sculpture on the bowling green of Lower Manhattan. This is Eaton’s second collaboration piece with Hublot, having previously designed the Classic Fusion Aerofusion Concrete Jungle watch for the brand in 2016.
The Hublot Spirit of Big Bang West Coast Ceramic Black and White fake watches look at first glance very much like something produced by Richard Mille, with the skeletonized dial and tonneau-shaped case. This is a chronograph watch, although such isn’t immediately apparent due to the discreet black pushers and a lot of detail on the dial which initially can distract the eye from the chronograph’s registers. Featured at 3 o’clock is the 30-minute counter, followed by a 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock, and running seconds at 9 o’clock, which is also signed with Hush’s name. An exposed date ring runs the periphery of the dial, framed by a perforated white border at 4:30. The central second hand features a Hublot-logo counterweight and black-plated tip with a thin strip of white luminescent material, which also features on the chronograph register hands and hour markers.
The case of the Hublot Spirit of Big Bang West Coast Ceramic Black and White is made of micro-blasted black ceramic, which should provide the watch with good scratch resistance. Keeping the monochromatic theme is a contrasting white ceramic bezel, affixed to the case with six titanium screws with a polished black PVD coating. The case measures 42mm in diameter and is 14.10mm thick, and although Hublot haven’t specified the case length, I expect this watch will wear quite big. The case is also water-resistant to 10 ATM (approximately 100m) which combined with the tough ceramic should make this a capable sports Hublot watch. Note, however, that while ceramic is very hard, it is also brittle, which is a concern for a watch that stands 14.10mm tall and can thus be prone to knocking against things.